This Indian Woman Bravely Stopped Trump’s Business Associates From Breaking Her House Down
2011: 54-year-old Smita Panvalkar stood up against the freshly elected US President, Donald Trump’s intention of extending his business to India’s real estate market.
Trump’s company wanted to build a 62 storey residential ‘Trump Tower’ in association with a local developer (Rohan Lifescapes) on certain plots around and inclusive of that of an 87-year-old Pathare Prabhu Building in South Mumbai’s Chowpatty area wherein Panvalkar lived since 1990.
The building had been housing 25 families- all tenants. Although a majority of the other tenants had agreed to moving out in 2004 when they were first familiarized with the plan, Panvalkar stood firm on her ground and resolved to not let the “world’s most glamorous real estate developer” reduce her three-room residence to the ground.
BTW, that was supposed to be Trump’s first project in India. However, nothing came of it until 2010 when the developers told the residents to vacate the building.
“The developers offered compensation money and asked us to vacate the building so that they could develop it. Smita told them we won’t leave the building unless they gave us an apartment in the new building. Much later we learnt that the building was named after Donald Trump, the famous American tycoon,” Smita’s husband, Prasad Panvalkar told BBC.
She could. So she did.
Other tenants had consented to moving out and getting compensation. However, Panvalkar’s family stayed back owing to her determination and refusal to budge. Even though a shot circuit took away the electricity for 45 days, Smita kept running her household in candle light.
Trump’s company, on facing problems with approvals, signed deals with the Lodha Group (Mumbai) in 2013 and Panchshil Group (Pune) in 2014.
Smita, however, passed away in 2015 owing to a heart attack. The family had moved out of the apartment in April last year only to get a flat in the new building that is going to be built by Rohan Lifescapes on the same spot after breaking the dilapidated building.
“She was a quiet woman, but very determined. She was a fighter.”- Prasad Panvalkar.
H/T: The Better India
