Several Catholics and leaders of the community will protest outside actor Shah Rukh Khan’s residence on Saturday against the barricading of the road below his bungalow, Mannat, which is one of the routes to the ongoing Mount Mary Fair.
The police, which put up the barricades, has said that the move will prevent a stampede during the festival, which sees a heavy rush of devotees. However, activist and trustee of the Bandra Watch Dog Foundation Nicholas Almeida said, “Closing of a road increases the chances of a stampede instead of preventing it. There are three roads leading to Mount Mary which are sufficient to ensure smooth movement of devotees. It is unfathomable with what logic the police blocked the road.” Mr Almeida claimed the real reason behind putting the barricades was to prevent “inconvenience” to the actor.
Organisations including the Bombay Catholic Sabha, Perry Road Residents Association, members from the St. Anthony’s Church, Wake Up Bandra, CROSS, Mobai Gaothan Panchayat and Save Our Land (SOUL) will be a part of the protest.
When contacted, Bandra civic officials said that they had nothing to do with the barricades and that they were installed by the police. A Bandra police official claimed that the barricades were indeed meant to prevent stampedes, but was not able to say how they would prevent a stampede by blocking off one road.