Merely two years after its restoration, the iconic Khada Parsi statue in Byculla is under threat again, thanks to local slum dwellers, who have turned it into their home. This is happening despite the fact that the Brihanmum-bai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has plans to monitor and safeguard it. But at present, the plans have not moved forward.

After laborious restoration that lasted close to two years and costed close to Rs 1 crore to the BMC, the Khada Parsi Grade 1 heritage monument at Byculla junction is once again threatened by encroachers. On Sunday, a family of five with their mattresses and a broken chair had moved into the well around the cast iron statue that is one of only two of its kind in the world