NHAI eyes Navsari Tower of Silence land for road, Parsis up in arms

Mumbai, Dec. 21: The Parsi community in Navsari is up in arms against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)’s plan to acquire a portion of the Doongerwadi (Tower of Silence, the final resting place for Parsis) land in the city. Members of the community have launched a movement called ‘Save Doongerwadi Land’ and plan to make a representation in the ministry of road transport & highways (MoRTH) to get the road’s alignment altered.

The protest was triggered when a team of government officials on Thursday visited the Doongerwadi land on the banks of the Purna river on the outskirts of Navsari. The visit was to initiate an initial survey of the land required to pave a new road. Doongerwadi is sacred to the Parsi community, and access beyond a certain area is strictly restricted to Parsi Zoroastrians. Non-Parsis are generally not permitted to enter the main funeral site and prayer hall areas except under specific circumstances.

Given this background, a group of Parsis gathered and objected to the visit, stating that no notice had been served before such a survey. Thereafter, a notice was immediately issued by NHAI and the team of surveyors re-visited on Friday.

“During the conversation, we learnt that NHAI wants to widen the Surat-Navsari Road from the current two lanes to four lanes,” said Kersi K Deboo, former vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities. “A river bridge exists there and a new bridge is being planned parallel to it as part of National Highway 64. At this juncture, the authorities intend to acquire about 8,000 sq ft of the 10 acres Doongerwadi sits on. We have suggested alternatives and plan to approach the higher authorities in New Delhi to present our side.”

One of the two alternatives skirts the over-500-year-old Doongerwadi land altogether while another involves 3,000 sq ft getting acquired eventually. “In the past, we have already given away a lot of land in and around Navsari for multiple purposes,” said Deboo. “We parted with a portion of the same Doongerwadi land earlier too, but it isn’t possible this time around.”

About five years ago, the community had agreed to give away 28,000 sq ft of the Doongerwadi land when the road was being widened to 18 metres. The community claims to have spent ₹35 lakh on demolishing a century-old perimeter security wall and reconstructing it at another location. The land currently sought has holy structures on it, leading to the resistance from the community members.