Experts demand responsible restoration of UNESCO site at CSMT

The CSMT building, that was designed by architect Frederick William Stevens back in 1888, is undergoing one of its biggest restorations

Gothic-style statues, or zoo-zoo look-alikes - conservationists question CSMT restoration as images of shoddy work surface on social media. The issue came to light on Sunday after conservation architect Vikas Dilawari posted pictures of some restored figurines on Twitter. The Roman sculptures on the World Heritage Site were seen blunted and disfigured in the images he shared.

While the intentions of restoration are good, the execution lacks accepted international standards, Dilwari said, adding that suggestions from conservators and professionals would have helped the cause. History enthusiast and member of Bombay Local History Society Aadil Desai said, "They should remove the world heritage status immediately. That's probably what they want to do, so they can go ahead with their plans to modify the area the way they want for commercial purposes. One must protest against this unprofessional approach and see to it that proper conservation work is done by the contractors."

The ongoing multi-crore restoration work aims to replace and restore doors, beams and rafters made of teak and timber. Work also involves replacement of rotten and distressed Burma teak wood and restoration of heritage flooring of the verandah of the first floor. Heritage enthusiast Kunal Tripathi who runs the popular @mumbaiheritage Twitter and Instagram accounts, however, said that this sort of repair work would harm the grand terminus. "The railways should have been more sensitive when it comes to restoration of such a site," he said.

"Can we ask a nurse to perform an open-heart surgery? Conservation is a specialised field that needs the expertise of qualified professionals. We cannot play around with a world heritage site like this!" exclaimed heritage activist and founder of Khaki Tours Bharat Gothoskar. Another expert from the field said, "The replacements are stylistically different. The sculptures on the facade were in classical revivalist Greco-Roman realism. The replacements make them look like leftovers from the Byzantine/Romanesque architecture. Were sculptors from Sir JJ School of Art consulted?

Restoring glory?
The World Heritage Site is undergoing one of its biggest restoration projects as the idea is to restore the building to its original glory as was designed by architect Frederick William Stevens in back in 1888. Rail workers and artisans at Mumbai CSMT have been crafting and framing wood work of the UNESCO-listed station to the original 19th century specifications. It was then constructed meticulously over a decade by Indian contractors, workers and students from the JJ School of Art.

A Central Railway spokesperson said that they will seek details from the concerned department about the restoration. The BMC's heritage committee had also expressed concern and even written to the railways warning them that any irreversible intervention carried out at the site would adversely impact the building's heritage character and prove as a threat to its UNESCO listing.

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