Mumbai: Redressing worries about the delay in restoring the 'Parsi Gate' on Marine Drive which was dismantled for the Mumbai Coastal Road project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that work has started on the sacred site.
The gate, which consisted of two elaborately carved five-meter-high stone columns, was removed in April 2021. The dismantling of the monument, built in the early 20th century by Parsi philanthropists, had created a furore in the Parsi-Zoroastrian community which uses the site for religious rituals associated with water.
Explaining the plans to rebuild the site, Vijay Zore, engineer in the Mumbai Coastal Road project, told the Free Press Journal that the new site will be 75 metres to the north (towards the Worli end of the Coastal Road) of the old location. The site was moved because the canopy built on the road would have obstructed views of the columns from across the road. The new site has been approved by members of the Parsi community, said Zore.
"We are now laying the steps, parapet, and the balustrade. Once that is completed, the columns will be installed," said Zore. "We could have set up the columns now, but there is movement of machinery near the site. We are worried that the columns could get damaged during the shifting. So, we have kept the erection work to the last."
The new site can be accessed by devotees by crossing a road signal that will be 50 metres away. The pillars are now stored below the Princess Street flyover. Worried about the delay, members of the Parsi community have been writing to the BMC for an update on the restoration. Activist Zoru Bathena wrote two letters to municipal officials in April to find out about the restoration but received no reply. "I have sent them several reminders. And each officer keeps forwarding it to another officer. But no reply yet," said Bathena.
The columns themselves are not listed as heritage monuments, but the Marine Drive precinct is a protected area. The new site for the columns has received the approval of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), an independent body of conservation architects and other experts, whose nod is needed for the restoration and shifting of heritage-listed sites. Though the tentative date for the completion of the restoration is May 31, it may take more time, the BMC said.
The decision to dismantle the columns had spurred petitions against the plans. An online petition 'Save the Parsi Gate', on change.org in 2020 received nearly 7500 signatures. The site was also used by Hindus for religious rituals.
Though the BMC's assurance that the columns will be restored soon has reassured the community, there are still questions. Farah Polad, who was among the group that started the campaign to get the site restored, said, "If it was not for citizens, the columns would have gone. We would still like to know if devotees will be able to step into the water as the rituals require offerings to the sea," said Polad.
The MHCC said that the community should not be concerned about the new designs for the site. "The devotees are expected to go down into the water to place their offerings. The approved plans have taken into consideration all these requirements," said architect Chetan Raikar, a member of MHCC.
