Veronica Vaz, 73, says her eldest daughter, Nancy Saldanha, from among six children, is responsible for her plight and she also fears forcible eviction.
Imagine living cooped up in your home, without a door, without privacy. That’s how 73-year-old Veronica Vaz has been living for a week at her flat in the Salex Centre Co-operative Housing Society (CHS), Kalina.
The old woman is living with an unhealthy load of fear, as the main door of her one-room flat has been detached for repairs to her home.
Vaz says her eldest daughter, Nancy Saldanha, from among six children, is responsible for her plight and she also fears forcible eviction. But Catholic groups and human rights activists have come together in support of Vaz.
Suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, Vaz got palpitations on July 12 when a contractor’s workers dismantled the door without her permission. The same day, a complaint was filed at the Vakola police station against the contractor and the secretary of the society, Salvadore Saldanha, Vaz’s son-in-law.
“The contractor was instructed to conduct repair works by Salvadore. I am sleep-deprived now. Despite directives from the police station to fix the door, it has not been done,” said Vaz. “The duty officer has instructed me to dial 103 or 100 in case the door is not fixed. I have not done so because I want to arrive at an amicable settlement.”
Vaz’s other married daughter, Elma, comes over from Malad to guard the flat every night. “My mother’s health is deteriorating due to this. She has been robbed of her peace,” said Elma.
Vaz said the apartment block came up in place of her cottage on the plot. “Salvadore was the developer of the property. The first floor was meant for my two sons and the ground floor for me. Much to my shock, after the building was completed, the name listed on the share certificate was Nancy’s. When I took up the matter with the Saldanhas, I was told I could continue staying as it was my flat,” Vaz said.
Salvadore refuted the allegations. He said Vaz is indeed staying in Nancy’s flat. The shifting of home was because of repair work on the first floor.
Nancy said: “We are conducting repairs on the first floor. She’s staying in my flat. I have papers as proof.”
But Dolphy D’Souza, president, Bombay Catholic Sabha, is not convinced with the Saldanhas’ explanation. “Why did they need to break open the main door and the lock for repairing the floor?” D’Souza remarked.
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