Mumbai: The BMC has given considerable space, and funds, to art in its budget for 2018-19, with plans to turn the city’s snaking water pipelines into canvases for artists, as part of the Pipes As Canvas project.
The civic body is also planning to introduce attractions like the Mumbai Books Route, a Bollywood Walk of Fame, a Cocoon Track and a Biodiversity Route, among other beautification measures. Also in the offing is a new art gallery and auditoriums, including a 3D auditorium and an educational gallery at the City Institute of Disaster Management at a cost of ₹4 crore.
The Samyukta Maharashtra Smrutidalan at Dadar will soon host virtual reality shows, while the proposed Textile Museum will offer a light-and-sound show on the history of the city’s mills, and the social and cultural aspects of mill workers. The museum is to come up on India United Mill land. The BMC will also beautify a water body in the vicinity, and its surroundings.
The restoration of the heritage site will include development of a library, an art exhibition centre and a public plaza at the cost of ₹300 crore. Around ₹25 crore have been provided in the budget. Besides these, the BMC also intends to beautify various places to attract visitors and improve Mumbai’s tourist attractions.
Plans are being drawn up for the restoration of 12 heritage pyau or water supply points. Currently, the BMC is working on improving visibility of heritage structures in Fort, and information plaques will be put up at the cost of ₹4.8 crore.
The forts at Sewri and Sion will be decked with aesthetic lighting, while the one at Bandra will be beautified with a mural of Swami Vivekananda at a cost of ₹3 crore. The beachfronts at Versova, Seven Bungalows, Aksa, Marve, Manori, Erangal, Chimbai, Dadar and Mahim will get new lighting at the cost of ₹10 crore. The viewing gallery at Kamala Nehru Park in Malabar Hill will also be upgraded. A landscape garden is also planned at Byculla zoo at an estimated cost of ₹7.8 crore, as is a Japanese theme park at Bhandup.
