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Since July 2016 the hostelites at the Gamadia Boys Hostel in Gamadia Colony have fallen victim to the machinations of the feuding Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees. The 70 to 80 occupants, largely students from various parts of Gujarat are supposed to receive subsidized meals at the Hostel but neither the trustees nor the caterers they sought to appoint appear to agree on the terms and conditions set forth.
Following an article in the weekly "Parsi Darshan” advertorial page of the Mumbai Samachar dated January 1, 2017 accusing the majority trustees BPP chairman Yazdi Desai, Noshir Dadrawala, Kersi Randeria and Zarir Bhathena of causing the stalemate, Parsiana wrote to Desai on January 6 for a clarification. The correspondence concerning the appointment of a caterer was then forwarded to the magazine around January 20.
The last caterer Keki Darji, who was viewed as former BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta’s man, refused to increase his payment to the trust for use of the premises retrospectively stating in a letter dated July 8, 2016 that "as per the agreement signed in May 2016 I started charging extra amounts from the hostelites only from June 2016 and naturally assumed that this additional payment of Rs 20,000 per month would also be applicable from June 2016…I admit it was my lapse and I should have been more vigilant when signing… If however your goodselves insist on taking advantage of my lapse and recover the arrears… then I am not interested in doing business with this august body.”

 

 

 

 

The trustees believed Darji had made substantial profits by paying the BPP a paltry sum of Rs 20,000 a month, inclusive of electricity charges, thanks to Mehta’s patronage and were now perhaps trying to recover some of those dues.
"When Darji resigned on his own and left abruptly (because another kitchen was made available to him at Elphinstone Cricket Club, which is now controlled by Mehta), the board realized how much damage he had caused to the Hostel premises,” stated Desai in the "BPP Connect” column of the Parsi Times dated January 7, 2017. The weekly paper is owned by Desai’s co-trustee, Randeria. "The repair and cleaning of this mess has cost the BPP over two lakhs, while we have the surety of only a lakh of rupees deposit to fall back on!
"After Darji’s exit, the BPP trustees spoke to various Parsi caterers, all of whom expressed their inability to take up this contract. Subsequently, the BPP had to choose from the available non-Parsi caterers, but (BPP trustee and Dinshaw’s son) Viraf Mehta sabotaged all of them and insisted that we should get only a Parsi caterer.”
On October 24, 2016, BPP chief executive Cawas Panthaki wrote to the trustees: "After receipt of Mr Khorzad A. Bhesadia’s email of October 22, 2016, showing his inability to take up at present the Gamadia Boys catering which he had earlier agreed to albeit verbally, we have tried once again for Bappy (who had catered in the past), but he too has declined.”
Writing in "Parsi Darshan” on the "Saga of Caterer at Gamadia Colony Boys Hostel,” the Mehta clan stated "the trustees even offered some of the prospective Parsi caterers to reduce the rates payable to BPP that they were charging Darji and were even willing to give loans to the new caterer to start his catering business. Unfortunately till date there has been no response.
"The result is that from July 2016 till date the poor students from various parts of Gujarat have to fend for themselves for their morning tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner by dining out in various nearby restaurants at costs which most of them cannot afford. A few of the mofussil students have returned back to their villages as they could not afford to dine out day in and day out.” Viraf denied he had anything "to do with the article.”
Viraf subsequently told Parsiana on January 21, 2017 that Bhesadia was once again willing to take up the contract but that the terms and conditions had to be worked out with Randeria. But till the time of going to the Press no announcement has been made as to the appointment of a caterer.