"They [Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC)] seem to have given up the idea... There have been a lot of protests by not only Parsis, but even sister communities,” Gayomard Panthaki, trustee of the 175-year-old Avabai Ardeshir Wadia (Indawalla) Agiary, situated in a by-lane near the Zarthoshti Anjumanna Atash Behram at Dhobi Talao, told Parsiana on January 9, 2019. He was responding to queries about the proposed construction of a toilet block in a small garden behind the fire temple. "Many local residents are against the construction of the toilet...But you never know what lies in the future,” he said. Once a thriving Parsi precinct, the area around the Agiary is now largely populated by sister communities who seem to have been vocal, in addition to the neighborhood Parsis, about voicing their protest.
Avabai Wadia (Indawalla) Agiary: saying ‘no’ to a toilet
Photo: Mahafreen H. Mistry
The residents had submitted a letter dated January 2 to their ward office demanding the toilet be shifted elsewhere, reported the mid-day (MD) of January 4. "We fear that (the construction) will contaminate the well water,” community member Cyrus Irani told MD while activist Pervez Cooper pointed out that there are at least two toilets within walking distance of the proposed site. BMC engineer S. K. Mudhe was quoted in the report as stating that "there is no other space available (for the construction) apart from the garden.”