Mumbai's Second Oldest Shaare Rason Synagogue Grapples With Waste Nuisance

Mumbai: The Shaare Rason Synagogue, the second oldest synagogue of the city on Tantanpura Street, Pydhonie has been troubled with waste landing on its roof. While the synagogue has made a roof to avoid it landing inside the premises, it says that heavy waste like coconut and other such waste threatens to damage the roof besides the fact that the nuisance has not stopped. 

“There are people who continue to throw things”

"We have been facing the problem for a long time now. Earlier the waste would land inside the premises. We have been requesting the neighbouring building but not much has improved. Over a period of time when the nuisance did not stop, we made a roof so that it does not land inside our premises. There are people who continue to throw things. This includes all kinds of waste. Sometimes it is coconut which is heavy and we feel it can damage the roof," said Sinora Kolatkar, honorary secretary of the synagogue who has complained to the civic authorities and that building owner. 

Kolkatkar added, "The building owner too has shown helplessness. He said he has told his tenants but some of the tenants continue with the nuisance. We had also approached elected representatives but the problem persists." Kolatkar said that the house gully between the Synagogue and building was dumped with garbage, which would overflow or be kept on the road close to the synagogue. A house gully is an extremely narrow space between two structures that have a sewage system. Certain wards in south Mumbai are plagued with house gullies being treated as open dumps. 

Beside synagogue representative, a resident who lives in a flat at the back side of the synagogue but which is part of the same precinct too complained of the problem. "There are a lot of problems due to garbage being thrown from the neighbouring building. It so happened that they had once thrown diapers and the faecal matter came to our window. Since then we have put up a plastic sheet because our kitchen is also this side," said Saidul Shaikh, who lives on rent in a flat whose window opens towards the roof of the synagogue.

FPJ visits the premises

When FPJ visited the Supariwala building abuting the synagogue waste and garbage was being thrown, a resident said that people normally threw waste into the open gutter (house gully) and some of it may have landed on the roof of the synagogue. "Since it is an open gutter, people tend to throw things. Some of it may have landed on the roof," she said. 

The resident said there is no society as the building was a tenantship. Yusuf Supariwala, owner of the building said, "I have told the resident earlier also. I will tell them again through our rent collector to not throw anything and that there are complaints made to the public authority, which can lead to action. Hopefully they will listen." Ajitkumar Ambi, assistant municipal commissioner of B ward under whose jurisdiction the area falls, did not respond after FPJ sent sms and whatsapp messages. The copy will be updated as and when he responds.