05 October,2020 08:20 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale
The window arches of the gate are made of moulds of fibreglass. Pics/Satej Shinde
The iconic entrance gate to Mumbai at Dahisar, which resembles a section of the BMC headquarters, will be now demolished to make way for the Metro Line 9. The gate was built in 2011 after four years of construction work at the cost of Rs 7. Its repairs started in 2019 at the cost of Rs 2 crore.
The MMRDA recently informed the civic body to not beautify it as it is coming in the way of the extension of the Metro line from Dahisar East to Mira Bhayandar. The BMC has given a No Objection Certificate to the MMRDA for the demolition.
The Metro Line 7 from Andheri East to Dahisar East has been under construction. The work order for the extension was given in September 2019 and the MMRDA expects to complete the 13.5 km route by October 2022. Amid the pandemic, the deadline may shift further.
The easing of the traffic jams on Western Express Highway, however, is coming at the cost of the iconic gate.
The BMC says that the gate will be built again
The 60-metre wide and 125-feet high structure is supported on 10 pillars. The window arches on the gate are made of moulds of glass fibre. The gate has small details identifying the city's heritage and was inaugurated by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray before the civic polls of 2012.
In 2018, one of the panels of the gate collapsed on an auto-rickshaw, injuring the driver. Its repairs, on for several months, were approved by the BMC's standing committee without any discussions in January 2019. After MMRDA officials noticed the repairs, letters were shot off to the BMC.
The gate comes under R North (Dahisar) ward. Sandhya Nandedkar, assistant commissioner of R North, said, "We received a letter asking us not to carry out further repairs as the Metro line will be constructed on one side of the highway and the gate is coming in the way. The gate will be built again after the Metro work is completed," Nandedkar said.
MMRDA spokesperson B G Pawar said, "The Metro Line 9's alignment has to go from that side. We asked the BMC to do the renovation keeping in mind the height of the Metro line and structure." Pawar added that the BMC and MMRDA will decide on further action.
Rs 2.7cr
Cost of the renovation of the entrance gate
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