BMC tower to offer tourists a glimpse of Forts heritage…..Sharvari Patwa
The gallery can accommodate seven to 10 people and will be open for public for limited hours
The gallery can accommodate seven to 10 people and will be open for public for limited hours
To enhance the experience of tourists who throng the city for a glimpse of the heritage precinct in the old Fort area, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to throw open a gallery at the tower of its building. The gallery and part of the old building in the civic administration headquarters are currently not in use.
The gallery, which can accommodate seven to 10 people, will be opened for public for limited hours and will offer visitors a better view of the old Fort area including the CST building and the heritage structures along D N Road.
Municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar said in his budget speech recently, It is proposed to open up the building for scenic view of Mumbai city. The municipal head office main building is a listed Grade IIA heritage structure. The tenders for renovation internal re-designing of offices, beautification of common areas like passage, lift foyer and staircase blocks and courtyard have been invited under the phase III of restoration work of the headquarters.
Hundreds of tourists visit the old Fort area to see the heritage structures there. This gallery will give them a birds eye view of the heritage precinct and make it a beautiful experience, said a senior official in charge of the restoration work.
According to officials, the gallery will be open for public within the next one year, even as work on the restoration of the main building is underway. The BMC has allocated Rs 15.25 crore for the restoration work under phase III.
The main building of the BMC office, which is over 120 years old and built in neo-Gothic style with stone masonry facade and spiral wooden staircases, Mangalore-tiled roof, stone arches, stained glasses on doors and windows and ornamental detailing with gold leafing, is being restored currently. Once the restoration of the old building is completed, offices of the mayor, deputy mayor, chairpersons of various committees of the civic body and senior bureaucrats will also be housed in the old heritage structure.
The plan for the renovation of interiors is under the supervision of conservation architect Abha Lambah, who was also responsible for the restoration work of the building. The building, which is known for its 255-ft tall tower, also has a central dome which rises to a height of 234 ft. The staircase dome, as it is called, was coated in gold last year as part of the project to restore the colonial structure. In its 120 years of existence, the golden-beige basalt exterior of the building had turned grey and its walls covered with moss. The restoration of the building began in 2008.