The rear portion of the 119-year-old Bai Maneckbai Nusserwanji Chenoy Fire Temple (adarian) in Hyderabad and the adjoining residential units housing about 45 families comprising 100 individuals are battling seepage of sewage water into their compound for a year-and-a-half now. Honorary secretary of the fire temple trust Russi Doctor told Parsiana on October 20, 2023 that they are making all efforts to reduce the health hazard. Resident Fram Desai said, "It is pretty bad… Residents are falling sick, the agiary’s well is polluted.” Ervad Kerfegar Antia, who was recently appointed trustee at the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad Hyderabad (PZASH) and serves the fire temple occasionally said they are unable to renovate the kebla as that requires pure well water. . While the water supply and sewerage board has given an assurance to send tankers to clear the sewage, residents are terming this as "small mercies from government departments.” They believe the only permanent solution is to restore the sewage line to its earlier state.
Bai Maneckbai Nusserwanji Chenoy Fire Temple
Ingress of sewage water around adjoining homes
The problem started when Santosh Dhaba, a two-decade-old vegetarian restaurant whose property abuts the complex’s rear wall, went in for a building expansion in March 2022. They reportedly blocked the sewage line with concrete. "As this is the only outlet for the fire temple, the sewage backflows due to lack of an outlet, especially into the sacred well, around which all rituals are based,” reported the Deccan Chronicle (DC) of October 20.
Doctor was quoted in DC as stating, "We have raised complaints with the municipal corporation and the water supply and sewerage board, but no action was taken. We approached the local corporator who turned back without helping us. We met (the appropriate) member of the legislative assembly T. Raja Singh but he did not extend help. We also approached the minority commission, but all our efforts have been futile.”
Desai moved to Hyderabad from Bombay to care for his nonagenarian aunt Thrity Bapooji, retired principal of Bai Ratanbai J. Chinoy Parsi High School. Bapooji told DC, "Despite being confined to a wheelchair, I sometimes have to remove the sewage using buckets. During the monsoon, we are marooned.” Another resident told the website newsmeter.in that residents have to purchase bottled drinking water, adding to their cost of living.
Dastur (Dr) Feroze Kotwal has written to PZASH trustee Jehangir Bisney, in response to his request for support, condemning the action of the restaurant; Dasturs Khurshed Dastoor and Cyrus Dastur have written open letters expressing support to the Hyderabad fire temple trust. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet has taken up the matter with Smriti Irani, union minister of minority affairs, and K. Chandrashekhar Rao, chief minister of Telangana state.