Ballard Estate building tenants booted out by MbPT a year ago, mark grim date

The clutch of people at Nazir building on 12 Calicut Street at Ballard Estate on a busy Friday evening comprised tenants marking a grim date the anniversary of the building being sealed by the Mumbai Port Trust MbPT one year ago There were 50 tenants in the 62 offices in the ground plus one building who came together with placards and documents to call attention to the day they were ldquothrown on the streetrdquoOutside the sealed building with placards to mark the one year anniversary PicsDatta KumbharMadusudan Mungekar 80 one of the oldest tenants of the building says he remembers that Thursday May 28 2015 when he along with others was given four hours to vacate He says ldquoThe building was built in the 1930s My father was one of the first tenants I have billas metal coins and old receipts which say we are legal tenants On that day a year ago the port trust did not care for history they threw us out like beggarsrdquo he said emotionallyP Thakkar at the entrance taken over by squattersPrabudas Thakkar who also had a clearing business in the building said ldquoSee how beggars have taken over the pavement outside our shops We still have some belongings inside like office furniture and airconditioners but the building has been sealedrdquo and he adds dramatically ldquowe were treated like terrorists Two police vans came with armed police They were accompanied by MbPT officers they told us to vacaterdquoMadusudan MungekarPervez Cooper tenant stated ldquoIn my absence my lock was broken and the space sealed I never got a chance to take my things By the time I arrived the building was sealed I now hear there are plans to make a port land Burj Khalifa by throwing us on the roads Cooper who adds ldquoI really regret voting for this GovtrdquoVictor Drsquocosta who had an importexport office in the building said ldquoWe have moved our offices elsewhere For weeks we had no office and lost so much business after the eviction It was a horrid time Mehul Sanghvi said ldquoIt was Hitler reign as armed police literally pushed us out It seemed planned since no other building has been emptied besides oursrdquoA notice at the main entrance of the building reads lsquoPursuant to the Order dated 22052009 and Execution Order dated 14052015 passed by the Estate Officer in Case NoEOE117117A of 2005 the vacant possession of the premises viz Plot NO 1768 Part B at Mody Bay Estate more particularly known as Nazir Building at Calicut Street Ballard Estate Mumbai has been taken over and the premises at present is in the possession of The Board of Trustees of Port of MumbairsquoThe MbPTrsquos Sanjay Bhatia remained unavailable for comment The Nazirs were landlords of this building A couple of years ago the Port Trust terminated the lease under the provisions of the Public Premises Eviction of Unauthorized Occupation Act of 1971 Pursuant to proceedings we ldquosurrendered the leaserdquo says the Nazirrsquos lawyer D Zaiwalla