Aaditya Thackeray dubs Caddell Road as the cultural spine of Mumbai

Kiran Dighavkar with his staff at the site of the vertical gardens on the back of the bus stops. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

The high visibility road from Mahim to Prabhadevi, also sometimes called Caddell Road has been dubbed the cultural spine of Mumbai, by tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray.

The road that runs through Shivaji Park-Dadar West area earned the catchy moniker because of inter-religious and historical landmarks dotting it. From St Michael's Church to Mahim Dargah, the Babasaheb Ambedkar Chaityabhoomi and Siddhivinayak Temple, major faiths are milestones along the route.

This then "is a great showcase of Mumbai," said Kiran S Dighavkar, assistant commissioner 'G-North' ward. "We are in the process of a facelift for the entire strip."

When we visited the site, Dighavkar was on hand, with a bunch of civic workers and officials supervising 'vertical gardens' behind two bus stops at Shivaji Park. The bus stops just outside the Maharashtra Scouts and Guides hall had at least 35 potted plants placed on the behind in neat rows, giving them a clean look. "This path sees significant pedestrian traffic. Devotees can be seen walking from Mahim's Hinduja to Siddhivinayak on Tuesdays, especially. We want them to walk on the footpath, not on the roads. Even the joggers at Shivaji Park run on the roads. The footpath should be their outdoors running trail. The back of bus stops are usually very shoddy with people scratching paint, vagrants stowing their belongings, people using them to spit and paste illegal bills on. We wanted aesthetics, and this has garnered good response from locals," said Dighavkar, pointing to his two personnel, "this suggestion came from Rupesh Pujari, Horticultural Asst. Garden Dept 'G' North Ward and Dnyandev Mundhe, Asst. Superintendent of Gardens, "G' North." Pujari said, "We could also call this a bio-wall. The pots are fixed on to the shelves. We have grown these plants at our nursery."

Landscaping at the base of a tree

Mundhe added, "Currently, we have worked on two bus stops, we will be working on others shortly. There are a few spots being identified." Even as we spoke a BMC worker said, "I saw a woman stealing a plant from one of these pots. She put the plant in her purse and was hurrying away. I ran after her and caught her. I told her to return the plant, or I would call the police. She threw the plant at me and ran away."

The BMC top brass also has tactile stretches on both sides of the Shivaji Park footpath, with 'guiding tiles' to help the blind. A BMC official said, "They can place their canes on the tiles and guide themselves to bus stops or halts." The existing trees on the stretch are also being landscaped. We saw workers make a little path at the base and minuscule, model cars were fixed to the path.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner, 'G-North' ward

Madhukar Prabhu, Shivaji Park regular who was walking on the path gave a thumbs up to Dighavkar. "Excellent work, sir," he said and added to this reporter, "the vertical garden is so eye-catching. We are all for projects that increase the green and peace of this space." Tarun Bhansali from Shivaji Park said the landscaping and gardens, "are a novel idea and one that adds a surprise element to a well-worn, familiar route." Dighavkar signed off on an upbeat note, "We should finish certain earmarked bus stops soon but we have a lot of other plans like water fountains, etc. It depends on the kind of traffic certain spots have. This is a project in progress."

Landmarks on Mumbai's cultural spine

• St Michael's Church
• Mahim dargah
• Shivaji Park maidan
• Babasaheb Ambedkar Chaityabhoomi
• Veer Savarkar Smarak
• Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Olympic (MGMO) pool
• Hinduja Hospital
• Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition or Dadar Catering College
• Former Mayor's Bungalow to be made into a Bal Thackeray memorial
• Siddhivinayak Mandir

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