The
BMC’s heritage committee has stepped in to save a two century old
milestone in the city from being overrun by the Mumbai Monorail project,
though why it’s been so poorly ‘preserved’ - hemmed in by rusting
fences and camouflaged by the city’s filth - is a question they’re now
looking into.
The milestone in question - at NM Joshi Marg, or Delisle Road as it’s still known - is three-ft tall and made of basalt. It is one of the 13 such milestones installed in Mumbai between 1816 and 1837, and marks the distance to St Thomas Cathedral, near Churchgate station, as ‘IV Miles’. Only eight still remain, all in various stages of decay.
The MMRDA, which is the nodal agency for the Mumbai Monorail Project, had sought permission to remove the milestone in October, as it obstructed construction of a pillar being built for the project. However, the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), has refused to grant them a No Objection Certificate, asking them instead to temporarily remove the milestone, and put it back at the same spot once their pillar is built.
“Since this is a Grade I structure, it was not possible to carry on construction with the stone still there. But we couldn’t permit them to remove the stone permanently, and neither could the stone be moved to another spot since its relevance is tied to its location,” an MHCC member said.
The only option, MHCC Chairman V Ranganathan told Mumbai Mirror, was to grant the MMRDA permission to temporarily remove the milestone. “We have asked them to keep it in a safe place and then re-install it once construction of the monorail is complete,” he said. “When its time to place it back, we will ensure it’s installed in its original place.”
MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar assured that all permissions were in place and the milestone would be preserved well, and replaced at the same spot once construction was complete. Incidentally, the 13 milestones weren’t placed on just one route, and there are two eight-mile marks (the farthest), one at Sion and the other at Mahim.
Professor Varsha Shirgaonkar, who heads the history department at SNDT University, said the stones ended at Sion and Mahim as that’s where the city itself ended. “The cathedral was the city centre and stretched through Grant Road, Mazgaon, Parel and ended at Sion, she said. “Many of the stones have vanished. Despite being listed as Grade I heritage structures, they have not been conserved or protected.
The whole set of 13 marker stones is an intrinsic part of the city’s history,” she added, pointing out that the least the BMC could do was install plaques near the milestone to create awareness about the heritage stones. “The heritage water fountains too met with a similar fate. But the milestones are still there and those remaining should be protected.”
The heritage committee said it was unfair to blame them for how the milestones have been maintained, as it was only an advisory body, and the primary responsibility of conserving them remained with the BMC.
BMC officials say they had constructed a cement fence around the milestone a few years ago, but would check on the condition of the others once they received intimation from the heritage committee.
In fact, one could say that it was the apathy of civic heritage authorities in conservation of the heritage milestone that actually saved it from destruction.
The milestone, located yards away from the ill-fated bus stop that was hit by the bomb blast on SK Bole Road at Dadar kabutarkhana, did not suffer damage in the blast as it remained buried in the footpath.
The effect of the blast ripped off parts of the steel bus stop, damaged parts of the pavement. Late Friday night, the lane of the Dadar bus stop, which was one of the sites of Wednesday's serial blasts, was thrown open to the public, after two days.
The city’s original 16 milestones, that are spread across the city were installed over two hundred years ago and served as the backbone of the seven islands that once Mumbai was. According to civic records, the one at Dadar reads as VII miles and was placed between 1816 and 1837.
“The milestone is a few yards away and it could not have been damaged even if it would have stood taller as the major impact of the blast at Dadar was at a higher level. Nevertheless, the milestone did have a close shave,” a conservation architect said.
The latest list of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority's Heritage committee lists 16 original milestones, including the one kept in the premise of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla.
These milestones were built between 1816-1837 and these basalt stones, originally three or four feet tall, mark the distance in miles from St Thomas’s Church (today St Thomas’s Cathedral at Fort) which, in the eighteenth century, comprised the city-centre. This means they measure the distance of a particular location from the city's centre.
Of the 16 milestones listed, many are missing or have sunken into the ground during various road-widening projects or footpath building projects. BMC's heritage committee chairperson Dinesh Afzalpurkar, however, refused to comment on the issue.
The milestone in question - at NM Joshi Marg, or Delisle Road as it’s still known - is three-ft tall and made of basalt. It is one of the 13 such milestones installed in Mumbai between 1816 and 1837, and marks the distance to St Thomas Cathedral, near Churchgate station, as ‘IV Miles’. Only eight still remain, all in various stages of decay.
The MMRDA, which is the nodal agency for the Mumbai Monorail Project, had sought permission to remove the milestone in October, as it obstructed construction of a pillar being built for the project. However, the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), has refused to grant them a No Objection Certificate, asking them instead to temporarily remove the milestone, and put it back at the same spot once their pillar is built.
“Since this is a Grade I structure, it was not possible to carry on construction with the stone still there. But we couldn’t permit them to remove the stone permanently, and neither could the stone be moved to another spot since its relevance is tied to its location,” an MHCC member said.
The only option, MHCC Chairman V Ranganathan told Mumbai Mirror, was to grant the MMRDA permission to temporarily remove the milestone. “We have asked them to keep it in a safe place and then re-install it once construction of the monorail is complete,” he said. “When its time to place it back, we will ensure it’s installed in its original place.”
MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar assured that all permissions were in place and the milestone would be preserved well, and replaced at the same spot once construction was complete. Incidentally, the 13 milestones weren’t placed on just one route, and there are two eight-mile marks (the farthest), one at Sion and the other at Mahim.
Professor Varsha Shirgaonkar, who heads the history department at SNDT University, said the stones ended at Sion and Mahim as that’s where the city itself ended. “The cathedral was the city centre and stretched through Grant Road, Mazgaon, Parel and ended at Sion, she said. “Many of the stones have vanished. Despite being listed as Grade I heritage structures, they have not been conserved or protected.
The whole set of 13 marker stones is an intrinsic part of the city’s history,” she added, pointing out that the least the BMC could do was install plaques near the milestone to create awareness about the heritage stones. “The heritage water fountains too met with a similar fate. But the milestones are still there and those remaining should be protected.”
The heritage committee said it was unfair to blame them for how the milestones have been maintained, as it was only an advisory body, and the primary responsibility of conserving them remained with the BMC.
BMC officials say they had constructed a cement fence around the milestone a few years ago, but would check on the condition of the others once they received intimation from the heritage committee.
200-year-old Mumbai milestone survives Dadar blast
One of the 200-year-old Bombay city milestones at Dadar had a close shave in the serial bomb blasts that rocked the city on Wednesday.In fact, one could say that it was the apathy of civic heritage authorities in conservation of the heritage milestone that actually saved it from destruction.
The milestone, located yards away from the ill-fated bus stop that was hit by the bomb blast on SK Bole Road at Dadar kabutarkhana, did not suffer damage in the blast as it remained buried in the footpath.
The effect of the blast ripped off parts of the steel bus stop, damaged parts of the pavement. Late Friday night, the lane of the Dadar bus stop, which was one of the sites of Wednesday's serial blasts, was thrown open to the public, after two days.
The city’s original 16 milestones, that are spread across the city were installed over two hundred years ago and served as the backbone of the seven islands that once Mumbai was. According to civic records, the one at Dadar reads as VII miles and was placed between 1816 and 1837.
“The milestone is a few yards away and it could not have been damaged even if it would have stood taller as the major impact of the blast at Dadar was at a higher level. Nevertheless, the milestone did have a close shave,” a conservation architect said.
The latest list of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority's Heritage committee lists 16 original milestones, including the one kept in the premise of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla.
These milestones were built between 1816-1837 and these basalt stones, originally three or four feet tall, mark the distance in miles from St Thomas’s Church (today St Thomas’s Cathedral at Fort) which, in the eighteenth century, comprised the city-centre. This means they measure the distance of a particular location from the city's centre.
Of the 16 milestones listed, many are missing or have sunken into the ground during various road-widening projects or footpath building projects. BMC's heritage committee chairperson Dinesh Afzalpurkar, however, refused to comment on the issue.
200-year-old Mumbai milestone TO SHOW THE DISTANCE FROM ST THOMAS CHURCH
The
city’s original 16 milestones, that are spread across the city were
installed over two hundred years ago and served as the backbone of the
seven islands that once Mumbai was. According to civic records, the one
at Dadar reads as VII miles and was placed between 1816 and 1837.
The
latest list of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority's
Heritage committee lists 16 original milestones, including the one kept
in the premise of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla.
I MILE
3 MILES
4 MILES
These
milestones were built between 1816-1837 and these basalt stones,
originally three or four feet tall, mark the distance in miles from St
Thomas’s Church (today St Thomas’s Cathedral at Fort) which, in the
eighteenth century, comprised the city-centre. This means they measure
the distance of a particular location from the city's centre.
Of
the 16 milestones listed, many are missing or have sunken into the
ground during various road-widening projects or footpath building
projects. BMC's heritage committee chairperson Dinesh Afzalpurkar,
however, refused to comment on the issue.
