Beautification work being done in Chinchpokli causes milestone base to break; BMC says will restore it soon
The base of the restored milestone lies broken at Chinchpokli
In a case of utter neglect, one of the key historic milestones among the 16 restored and celebrated by the BMC a few years ago, has been badly damaged by its own beautification work at Chinchpokli. By afternoon, the BMC had begun the process of its restoration. The Mumbai milestone project has been widely appreciated globally, even by the Milestone Society of UK.
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K Kailash, a local resident said, “I was walking past the area the other day and was shocked to find the newly restored milestone broken. It was done up quite nicely and I found it had been broken by the beautification work that has been going on. This shows there is absolutely no co-ordination or supervision of work
being done.”
Two years ago, the BMC had embarked on a unique project of restoring old and historic milestones in the city. The milestones are approximately 200 years old and 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
then city's centre.
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Of the original 16, as many as 11 were in place, but in broken or dilapidated condition. Many of these milestones were buried three to four feet deep under layers of cement and concrete. Doing great research referring to old books, documents, government records, gazette, the BMC had been trying to find out if more milestones existed. They were all removed, cleaned and restored with cobblestone and granite around it, along with an information plaque with a QR code on each milestone. For the five others that were missing, the BMC made black basalt milestones in their location to commemorate the original milestones.
Architect Rahul Chemburkar of Vaastu Vidhan Projects, who was appointed by the Heritage Conservation Cell, for the restoration of Mumbai milestones, said it was quite shocking.
“This is a Grade I structure. It is a uniquely restored, lesser-known antiquity which the city should be proud of and what has been done is quite disturbing. After the project was completed a few years ago, it had won applause not just from the city, but received global acclaim.
“The Milestone Society of UK had appreciated the work done on Mumbai milestones and had even invited me to write an article in their newsletter on the restoration. Despite all such recognition, I wonder how this is getting neglected on such a scale. This is the height of negligence,” Chemburkar told mid-day. “Heritage regardless of scale and size should be respected and cherished,” he added.
BMC officials said that had begun the process of restoration of the damaged milestone and was warning other contractors for stricter supervision.
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