Bohri community is spearheading a revamp of Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar
In one of the most fascinating parts of India, in the city of Mumbai, is the famed old Bhendi Bazaar, sometimes also called the Bohri Mohalla. And this is also where a most fascinating story of change and redevelopment is now unfolding. Shekhar Gupta interviews Abbas Master, CEO, Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT), Shaikh Abdeali Bhai Bhanpurawala, Secretary of the Trust, and Adil Zainulbhai, a trustee..
Before we get started, can you tell us what is it that makes the Bohris different? We just know you to be very rich people, very enterprising, we know you are found everywhere and we know that everybody loves you.
Bhanpurawala: We are popularly known as very humble people. We are very loyal, and basically what makes us different is we follow one leader, His Holiness Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin. We are a knitted community, worldwide community. We are nearly one million people all over the world and we are on one platform — whatever Syedna says we follow. That is our motto.
We are standing in front of the Roza Tahera, which I would loosely translate as 'mazaar of the pure'. This is the mazaar of the Syedna's late father.
Bhanpurawala: Syedna Taher.
It's the holiest place for the community.
Bhanpurawala: Let me tell you something about the Roza Tahera. This is the only place in the entire Islamic world where the whole Quran is inscribed in golden letters on all four walls of the Roza. On our left is the Saifee Masjid which was built by His Holiness the late Syedna Taher. It is an architectural marvel.
And we got good timing because we started with the azaan. Abbas saab, you are a qualified engineer and you have done projects for big companies around the world. I believe you are going to build a whole range of towers here. This will become a completely different place, the only inner city development of its kind in India. That's what gets people like us so excited. So tell us about what you are going to do.
Abbas Master: I've worked all over the world on very large projects, but this project is so complex and difficult and one of its kind being attempted not only in the city of Mumbai, but maybe all of India. And what makes it challenging is that we are working within the inner city where there are 250 buildings, 3,200 families living there, and 1,250 businesses which are thriving. We have to work within this environment. We plan to bring down all these 250 dilapidated structures. MHADA (the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) has classified almost 80 per cent of the buildings as dilapidated and dangerous to live in. So we plan to bring all these things down. Prior to that, we move people to transit accommodations that we have already constructed. And almost 1,200 families have moved from this area already.
What will this place look like after you are done in about 10 years?
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