Overlooking the Arabian Sea and constructed over an acre of prime land near the Bandra Bandstand, the Bhabha Parsee Sanitarium — a colossal ground-plus-four structure with over 30 spacious apartments — has been in total darkness for the past 14 days, thanks to a fight between the Parsee Panchayat that acts as the caretaker of the property and some of the 10 families that reside here.

The Sorabji Byramji Bhabha Sanitarium building (below) in Bandra Bandstand has no electricity for the past 14 days. A tenant cuts vegetable using the light of a candle. Pic/Satyajit Desai

Many of the residents have apparently not paid their electricity bills since the past three months, with total dues amounting to a Rs 63,000. While some residents accuse the Panchayat of high-handedness, the latter says the residents have been staying free of cost for decades on a piece of prime land, originally meant as a temporary sanitarium and the trust cannot go on supporting them indefinitely.