Mumbai: Members of the Parsi neighborhood are aggrieved with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as the fate of the iconic ‘Parsi Gate’ continues to stay uncertain. In order to facilitate the ongoing building work for the Coastal Road Project (CRP), the civic body had approached the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), in search of its approval to relocate the one hundred-year-old structure.
On Wednesday, a group of concerned citizens from the Parsi neighborhood went to the BMC to meet the civic chief, Iqbal Singh Chahal, to urge him not to relocate the structure.
The civic body plans to commence work on the proposed tunnel in between Priyadarshini Park and Girgaum from January 7, and the citizens had been concerned the tunnelling would influence the heritage infrastructure. Because of final-minute commitments, Chahal could not meet the delegation. However, Colaba legislator Rahul Narwekar and Corporator Harshita Narwekar met the group.
Havovi Sukhadwala, a member of the delegation, has been writing to a quantity of civic officials ever due to the fact the BMC announced it wanted to relocate the structure. In her letters, Sukhadwala urged the civic officials to let the structure stay at its original place.
Meanwhile the civic body has currently acquired an NOC from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) for building work at Marine Drive.
Replying to 1 of Sukhadwala’s letters, VS Nighot, chief engineer, CRP, had stated, Parsi Gate was not a heritage structure but was a element of the Marine Drive precinct, for which an NOC had currently been obtained from the MHCC for carrying out building work.
“In the EIA 2016 report, Girgaum Chowpatty area has been marked as a religious area. However, the Parsi Gate has neither been identified as a religious place nor a heritage structure in the EIA report,” Nighot had stated in the letter.
Earlier, in 2018, the Parsi Gate was renovated by the BMC. At that time, the civic body had needed a separate NOC from the MHCC in order to carry out repairs.
“The BMC, in one letter states the structure is not a heritage structure while it took an NOC from the heritage cell to carry out repairing works, all of their points are contradictory,” Sukhadwala told The Free Pres Journal.
The delegation had also ready an alternate style for the coastal road, which they had planned to pitch to the civic chief.
“In the BMC design, the ramp of the tunnel is being constructed adjoining the pavement, while they could have easily built it in the middle of the proposed road,” mentioned Alan Abraham, architect of the style ready by the members of the neighborhood and 1 of the concerned citizens.
Meanwhile, the BMC has written to the BPP, in search of post facto approval to relocate the structure. However, the BPP has not offered its consent.
“The best solution for the community is to keep the structure where it is, but we are trying our best to keep the structure close to its original place” Viraf Mehta, a trustee-member, BPP, told the FPJ.
Meanwhile, MLA Rahul Narwekar had assured citizens he would take up the situation in the legislative assembly, to make positive the structure is not impacted.
“I will arrange a meeting between the citizens and concerned officials in the next few days, this is a sensitive matter and it needs to be dealt with properly,” Narwekar told the FPJ.
Located at the Marine Drive Promenade just opposite the Taraporewala Aquarium, the style of the Parsi Gate is constructed on the basis of ancient Parsi architecture, which comprises two 5-metre pillars created of stone. Parsis have been paying respect to Avan Yazad (water deity) for more than a century and Hindus use the gate to immerse offerings in the sea through Poornima (complete moon).