Mumbai: You can now view and click pictures of heritage monuments like Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters without any hindrance and danger. The viewing gallery, which offers a spectacular and uninterrupted view of these iconic monuments, will be inaugurated today, thus offering tourists and Mumbaikars a chance to behold their grand beauty.
Constructed at the total cost of Rs 90 lakh, the five-feet high elevated gallery has been made up of Jaisalmer stone, which gives it a same look as that of CST and BMC headquarters. It will have only one entrance from the side of the civic head office. It will have glass façade, allowing the viewers to get a clear view of the surrounding heritage structures. The gallery has been constructed above one of the ventilation shafts of the pedestrian subway in front of the CST.
Kiran Dighavkar, the assistant commissioner of A ward, said, “The viewing gallery will surely be one of the favourite tourist attractions in South Mumbai. People can watch the grandeur of CST and BMC headquarters without any hassle and even can take selfie against the background.”
The viewing gallery will also be a boon to pedestrians who use CST subway as its ventilation capacity has been increased by several times. The old fans in the subway have been replaced by Tube Axial type fans having 15000 cfm and 15 mm static pressure, he added.
According to officials, the CST and BMC head offices are two of the most photographed structures in the city. The CST building is a UNESCO world heritage site constructed in 1888 and houses the headquarters of Central Railway, whereas the Gothic-styled BMC headquarters was opened in 1893.
The viewing gallery will be inaugurated by mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, in the presence of Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, education minister Vinod
Tawde and environment minister Ramdas Kadam. The gallery is a part of the beautification of iconic locations project undertaken by the BMC.
The civic body has been working on a complete makeover of the CST area, which also includes subway revamp, beautification of Bhatia Baug, change of footpaths and railings in the surroundings.
