Donald Trump, officially the 45th President of the United States, has made most of his fortune in real estate. The tycoon has built skyscrapers “decorating” the skylines of numerous metropolitan cities. Back in 2011, Trump wanted to make his overbearing mark on the metropolitan city of Mumbai but one courageous woman from Mumbai stood up to the real estate tycoon.
Smita Panvalkar, a 54-year-old woman, was asked to move out of her flat back in 2011 to make way for the new Trump Tower in Mumbai. However, she refused to move unless her family was given a flat in the new building.
Ms Panvalkar was offered monetary compensation from the local builders who had teamed up with Donald Trump but she refused to budge.
Eventually, her family was the last remaining residents in the building. A supposed short circuit caused a small fire, which left the building without electricity for 45-days.Â
Here’s how Mr Panvalkar described their living conditions.
“We lived and slept in the flat in the sweltering humidity and heat. Smita was overworked, doing the chores.”
Ms Panvalkar cooked in candlelight and even stopped taking her diabetes medication since she did not have a functioning fridge.
However, tragedy struck the family last November when Smita died from a severe heart attack.Â
“She had suffered from a lot of stress. She had diabetes and high blood pressure.”
Mr Panvalkar mourned the loss of his wife.
Mr Panvalkar continued to stay in the decaying building in order to honour the memory of his wife. In April 2016, he finally moved out when the developers finally agreed to give him a 12th storey flat in the new building.Â
The Panvalkars finally got what they had insisted on but Ms Panvalkar was not there to enjoy the fruits of her struggle.
Smita Panvalkar will always be remembered as the courageous woman who dared to stand up to Donald Trump.Â
News Source: BBC