New Bombay Parsis to have a fire temple soon

Parsi families in the city have a reason to rejoice as they will soon have an agiari (fire temple) built in Koparkhairane. New Bombay Zoroastrian Association Charitable Trust, the only Parsi association in the city has taken up the onus of building the temple and the foundation stone will be laid today.

The fire temple that is to come up at plot-14, 14/2 in sector-9, Koparkhairane is the first and will be the only one in the satellite city. Sharukh Mahiar Doctor, president of the association said, "The fire temple will be built on an area of 2500 sq.mts with a priest quarter adjacent to it. We will also be building a four-storeyed building that will house an oldage home and community hall."

He added that the estimated project cost is about Rs4.5-5 crore and that around Rs2.5 crore have been collected as yet. The foundation laying ceremony will commence in the morning today. The ceremony will start with a jashan that will be conducted by Khurshed Kaikobad Dastoor, who is the Vada Dasturji of Udvada's Pak Iranshah. The festivities will end with a traditional lunch. 

Noshir Parlewala, treasurer of the assocaition said, "Till date all the Parsis in Navi Mumbai have had to travel to either Thane, Dadar or Bandra to visit a fire temple. During important occasions or ceremonies, this can be taxing as commuting itself takes time. Youngsters mainly cannot go to the fire temple frequently. Thus, a temple being established in our own city will be very beneficial for all."

Residents also are delighted to hear the news. Rashna Doctor, a resident of Nerul said, "We used to go to the fire temple in Tardeo during every religious occasion and that was naturally very time-consuming. So, it is a huge blessing to have our own agiari here in Navi Mumbai"

Kashmira Vaccha, another resident said, "The nearest fire temple from Navi Mumbai takes an hour to reach and during monsoon it is especially difficult to travel. If we cannot visit due to commuting commuting, it feels bad. So, this is the best thing to have happened to us."