The Catholic community yesterday slammed the authorities for "playing politics" and "targeting heritage religious structures" ahead of the upcoming LS and assembly elections. Blaming Bandra MLA Ashish Shelar and the BMC for the directions given to two churches and an agiary in Bandra to return their land to the corporation, the members said they won't let go of the plots "till their last breath". A delegation also met with H-west ward's Assistant Municipal Commissioner Sharad Ughade.

'No notice from us'
Ughade, however, said no notice has been issued to the two churches or the agiary from his office. "Our priority is to ease the bottleneck and shift stalls on Hill Road causing a hindrance to traffic. In the case of the religious structures, we have not issued any notices," he added. Despite attempts, Shelar remained unavailable for comment.