Located in Andheri, the structure has heritage value and needs to be restored to its old glory, says panel
As locals entered the Church of St John the Baptist on Sunday, they didn't know when they will get to see it next. According to them, the church located inside SEEPZ in Andheri, is opened only once a year on the second Sunday of May. The reports provided by the Save Church of St John the Baptist Committee states that the church belongs to the 15th century and they have been fighting for total access since 2003.
Nicholas Almeida, president of the committee, said that the church needs restoration. "We filed an RTI to know to whom does the church belongs. The ownership is with MIDC. The church land was handed over to SEEPZ. The heritage structure doesn't have a roof and needs to be restored to its original glory. We see that an electrical sub station has been built inside the church compound and a gems and jewellery place has also come up on its graveyard. There is also a lake called Devool Talav which we are trying to reclaim. There are Baobab tress lined up here which are around 500 years old. Keeping the church in ruins doesn't help," he claimed.
The committee wants the church to be handed over to the Archdiocese of Bombay and the restoration to be taken care of by the government. "Thanks to late Bal Thackeray we got special access to the church in 2003. We were promised complete all-year access in 2014, but the changing governments have not helped us. We don't know what happens to the church for the rest of the year. We will come to know about it only next May. The church remains unguarded," he said.
In a letter to the authorities, the committee said: "The origin of the parish of St John the Baptist can be traced back to two mass conversions at Marol. Some of the inhabitants of Marol were among the 500 people who were converted when the Church at Condita was opened for public worship on the feast of St John the Baptist in 1579. The major portion of this church is still standing tall. Due to outbreak of the devastating epidemic, Fr Jose Paes, the then Vicar of Condita, having built a new church in the village of Marol in 1840, transferred the parish from Condita to Marol and the old church and parish house was abandoned. Before the old church fell into disrepair, the statues, the baptismal font, the altars and a few pillars were transferred to the new church at Marol."
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