Catholics and heritage activists in India’s financial capital, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), are concerned over the construction of a road near a Portuguese-era church and have urged authorities to ensure protection of the heritage monument.
The structural stability of the 17th-century Our Lady of Hope Church at Bhayandarpada in Thane is already at risk due to excavation and earth-moving activities being carried out for the proposed Thane coastal road project, they say.
Father Calisto Fernandes, the parish priest of the church, told UCA News on June 23 that the roadworks using heavy machinery are underway about 20-25 meters away from the historic church.
He said the church was built by the Portuguese Franciscan missionaries in 1630. “They could have easily found an alternative route for the proposed road to save and protect the heritage shrine,” the priest noted.
The private construction company hired for the project also wants to demolish around half of the 220 steps leading to the hilltop shrine, Fernandes said.
The management of the church received a letter from the company last month, saying the concrete steps along with the steel railings will have to be removed as they “fall within the alignment of the proposed road.”
Fernandes stressed that the steps were an integral part of the protected Indo-Portuguese heritage.
The company says it proposes to build a temporary access road to the shrine to minimize inconvenience to devotees during the construction phase. Later, a permanent Foot Over Bridge (FOB) will be constructed and handed over to the church management, it has assured.
However, the priest objected to this, saying he had not received any official letter about the project and its impact on the church from the government authorities yet.
The Association of Concerned Christians (AOCC), an ecumenical body, warned that failure to safeguard the historic church could result in the loss of an irreplaceable part of the region’s cultural and religious heritage.
“Generations of pilgrims have climbed the 220 steps as an act of penance, devotion and spiritual ascent to the hilltop shrine,” Melwyn Fernandes, general secretary of AOCC and heritage activist, told UCA News on June 23.
He said this centuries-old tradition of climbing the pathway to the shrine needs to be preserved for posterity.
“It has deepened our Catholic faith and devotion to Mother Mary,” he stressed.
Hundreds of Catholics from far and near flock to this hilltop shrine on April 26 for the annual feast of the parish, Jyotsna Fernandes from Thane city noted.
Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Watchdog Foundation on June 23 wrote to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Thane collector, the top government officer of the district, objecting to the excavation and earth-moving activities being carried out near the church.
“The use of heavy excavation machinery, causing vibrations, soil displacement and changes to ground conditions, could damage the church’s foundations and lead to structural distress,” warned Godfrey Pimenta, heritage activist and trustee of the Foundation.
“We have urged the ASI and district authorities to conduct an immediate site inspection, undertake a structural assessment through conservation experts, verify regulatory clearances, and, if necessary, suspend work pending a technical evaluation,” Pimenta said.