Timely restoration of Hanging Gardens non-negotiable

These are early days yet and the paperwork for the project has started. Trees will also have to be transplanted once the ground work begins

Hanging Gardens at Malabar Hill is all set to effectively ‘disappear’ for a while, said our prominent report. The garden is going to be taken over in phases, as there is a British-era Malabar Hill water reservoir beneath the garden and that has to be upgraded so that the burgeoning water needs of the area are fulfilled.

The report stated that the park will have to be uprooted, in a phased manner though for the work on the reservoir. These are early days yet and the paperwork for the project has started. Trees will also have to be transplanted once the ground work begins.

While more water to the area is a necessity, given the exponential growth of the city, there will be apprehension about Malabar Hill’s most iconic green lung being lost, even if there are reassurances that this is only temporary. It is a sad commentary on the trust gap that exists between the citizenry and officials that no amount of promises that greenery will be restored can quell fears and anger about green spots disappearing even if it is for a while. It also says a lot about track records, promises broken or forgotten, tree transplants failing that people are always skeptical about any upgrade or infra work needing green spots to be uprooted even temporarily.

Some years ago, an entire garden in Prabhadevi was uprooted for the Metro station. Authorities have stated that the station will be made underground and the garden will be replaced. We will wait for that to be fulfilled.

The Hanging Gardens too must be back and in an organised manner within a specific deadline or timeline. Green spaces must be given back to citizens after proposed work is over. We need to hold on to every square foot of green in concrete Mumbai. Finish the task and return the park, you owe that to the people.

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