Author: Ashley D'Mello
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 31, 2009
Over a thousand years ago, Parsis landed on
the shores of Sanjan on the Gujarat coast, seeking shelter and were welcomed
by the local raja who allowed them to settle on his land. The descendants
of these migrants are now paying back that debt by helping local residents
fight environmental pollution on the coastline.
Several city Parsis are now investing their
time and money in helping the villagers of Tadgam, which is located near Sanjan,
fight the increasing pollution of the beaches and land. This is caused by
a pipeline which dumps untreated industrial waste into the sea.
Shorab Canteenwalla, a Mumbaibased pilot who
has a farm house at Tadgam, says he was shocked at the slow degradation of
the area over the past decade."My father owned a house at Tadgam and
I used to go there on weekends. We saw the environmental damage and decided
to help the local villagers. We have been talking to Parsis in Mumbai and
increasing numbers are keen on helping us fight to restore the area to its
earlier state.''
An increasing number of city Parsis in the
past 50 years have been returning to buy holiday homes and flats in Sanjan
and Tadgam as they are emotionally attached to the areas.
Parizad Ghosh nee Davar who owns a house in
the area says,"Sanjan and the area around it is revered by Parsis. Watching
it being degraded by industrial effluents, which are seeping into the soil
and destroying fish in the sea made us sit up and taken notice.''
Upset at the way the coastline in Sanjan was
being polluted, member of the National Minorities Commission, Mehroo Bengalee,
the former vicechancellor of Mumbai University, has written to Gujarat chief
minister Narendra Modi, asking him to intervene in the matter. Bengalee wants
the CM to tell owners of industries to destroy the chemical waste, instead
of allowing them to pollute the sea.
Xerxes Buhariawalla and Dinaz Banaji are also
spreading the word about the fight to save the coastline by contacting prominent
Parsis in Mumbai."The catch is falling because of the pollution. So local
fishermen are forced to migrate to other townships like Veraval and Cambay
to obtain jobs and keep their home fires burning,'' said Buhariwalla. Canteenwalla
points out that two Parsi lawyers in Ahmedabad have volunteered to fight their
cases.
A visit to the site reveals the extent of
pollution. A large pipeline starting from an industrial estate in Tadgam is
laid 14 km on to Tadgam beach. Fishermen in the area are complaining about
their catch reducing over the years.
The sarpanch of Nargol (near Sanjan), Yatin
Bhandari says they need help from people and organisations to battle the menace
that is ravaging their beaches and countryside.
