Colaba locals fear Gateway makeover

They Suspect It Will Result In Traffic Snarls
Anjali Joseph I TNN

Mumbai: It's slated to cost around Rs 4.5 crore of public money, but for
some reason the plan drawn up by Indian National Trust for Art and Heritage
(Intach) for the redevelopment of the Gateway of India precincts and
approved by the state government's special task force in July 2006 has been
difficult to get hold of.

    Repeated requests by TOI to see the plan, even before the onset of BMC
elections, were ignored by additional commissioner Manu Kumar Srivastava.
Finally, however, a group of Colaba-based business people and residents have
got a copy using the Right to Information (RTI) Act. And what they saw
dismayed them, said Remu Jhaveri, of the Colaba Tourist Welfare Association
(CTWA), which also spoke for Colaba and Cuffe Parade Residents Association.
"The new plan has no provision for parking space in the Gateway area. The
existing two BMC car parks, one near the monument and the other between the
Royal Bombay Yacht Club and the monument, have been done away with at a loss
of about 60 car spaces. So where are tourist buses and visitors' cars going
to park?'' said Jhaveri. A BMC spokesperson said tenders had been issued for
a proposed underground car park at Regal, with a capacity for 1,000 cars and
with entrances at Kala Ghoda as well as at Regal. The car park was expected
to be ready within a year (therefore, in roughly the same time frame as the
Gateway plaza), said the spokesperson.

    Intach Mumbai convenor Tasneem Mehta said that Colaba residents had a
valid concern, but the current version of the plan was not what Intach
originally had in mind. "We have had to make several alterations to our plan
because of the requirements of the heritage committee. The committee felt
that as this was an important heritage site, parking was not a priority,''
said Mehta. The plan retains the existing access road from Regal circle, as
well as the garden with the statue of Shivaji and the fountain designed by
George Wittet, architect of the Gateway. A 'drop-off ' point for cars and
buses to let passengers alight is planned on the road near the garden, but
Shirin Bharucha of the CTWA said that traffic congestion was likely to
result from vehicles stopping at this place.

    Traffic police commissioner Satish Mathur said he had not seen the plan.
"I've got no idea about it. It hasn't been sent to us,'' he said.

    Work on the plaza was likely to begin next month, said Mehta.

PEEVED: Colaba residents complain the Gateway plan has no provision for
parking vehicles


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