“I am a heart patient; I don’t fear anyone but God”- Allan Pereira
Three 4G towers illegally installed by Raj Kaushal were demolished by the efforts of Allan Domnic Pereira along with the BMC and political authorities at Shirley Village on November 5, 2015. The whole Shirley Gavtan signed a campaign against these towers as they were harmful to their health and illegal. Allan Pereira, 60 years old, took the initiative of noticing, informing and single handedly conducting a signature campaign to fight against this menace.
On November 2, 2015 Allan noticed these three Reliance Jio 4G towers on the terrace of Rama2 building which is just next to his residence at Shirley Gavtan, Bandra West. Unaware of the ill effects of these metal towers, Allan was happy that these towers would improve the internet connectivity of their village and provide the youth mainly with faster 4G internet. It dawned only when his friends enlightened him that these towers were harmful to their health; the radiations from these towers were cancer causing, would lead to disruption of eyesight in the long run and affect the senior citizens by various cardiac health hazards.
Along with his advocate friend Wilbert D’Silva, Allan then immediately informed Stephen Noronha, the Congress President of Block 40. Stephen then brought this to the notice of Asif Zakaria, Municipal Corporator of that area. Immediate action was taken by Asif and Stephen as a letter was filed to the BMC ward officer Tawde and Allan was then guided to conduct a signature campaign against these towers.
On November 4, 2015, Allan went house to house explaining the villagers about the harmful effects of these towers. He recollects, “I went walking to every house in the whole village. I am a heart patient and cannot exhaust myself too much but I couldn’t wait in peace until those harmful towers were removed. I had to do it for my village, for my people and for their future.” By the end of that day, Allan collected 67 signatures and submitted it to the political authorities to take action.
On November 5, 2015, the BMC authorities along with Reliance officials demolished the towers. The BMC also disrupted the pipes that were dug on the road without permission. Moreover, Raj Kaushal had not informed the villagers about these towers at all.
Raj Kaushal tried to negotiate and make Allan compromise by saying that these towers were not harmful and were installed in other places without any issue. But Allan claims, “If these towers were for the betterment of the villagers why didn’t Raj Kaushal inform us? Why was it installed without our consent? We have been living in the village for over 100 years and we have the right to know these aspects.” Allan was even threatened by the higher authorities for his daring stand against the elite. After the towers were demolished, Allan has not been allowed till date to enter that building without permission. Moreover, we want to bring to the notice of the BMC that the unearthed ends of the pipes are still on the ground in the building premises.
‘Bravery stands alone but Stands firm’ is what we learn from the senior citizen, Allan, who took this courageous step and saved lives in the coming future. Stephen Naronha urges, “We Catholics should forget all our indifferences and stand together against injustice. We should overcome our internal quarrels and fight for our rights together as one community. For, together we can make a difference in society.” Allan exclaims, “My village is my family, I can and will always do anything if my village is in danger. I sincerely thank Stephen, Asif and the BMC for all the support.”
Asif Zakaria, Municipal Corporator commented, “The residents should always be aware and vigilant about the happenings in their society. If the residents find anything wrong they should immediately inform the authorities so that required steps are taken. Only an application was made for these 4G towers but no permission was granted; there is difference in an application and permission and people should be aware of that.”
A fearless, simple, senior citizen, Allan, uprooted the illegal acts of the elite Raj Kaushal in just 4 days. Surely, he has set an example for all of us by strongly beckoning one message- ‘Stand against wrong doing, don’t accept it silently and don’t ignore it either!’
