Mumbai : Mumbai has a lot of archeological sites which can be revived and their tourism potential tapped. Students from a city college worked on a project where they studied these sites and have come up with suggestions and concepts for their rejuvenation.
The sites selected were Dongri Hill in Bhayander, Gilbert Hill in Andheri, Holy Trinity Church in Powai, Jogeshwari caves in Jogeshwari and Mandapeshwar caves in Borivali.
“At every site we identify the character of the place so as to give guidelines. We study the ecology and what kind of effect new development will have,” said Mithali Nalla, one of the students part of the project. “For instance, in Bandra fort the Kolis are the stakeholders. We have to consider them,” she said. The students made sketches which have captured the small details of the location, such as the villages and the small alleys leading to some of the sites. “While making any development, this setup has to be kept in mind. Even for tourists, the experience will be better if they go through these narrow lanes and then see the monuments, than see them bang in front,” Mithali said.
The project provides a base study and concepts and suggestions for reviving these sites. “The city has a rich heritage, but there is a lack of awareness. These sites are not acknowledged as tourist places,” Mithali said.
There are suggestions such as making a route to connect Vasai Fort to Dongri hill island through boat and making a cycling trail connecting churches,quarry and the local village. At Holy Trinity Church, Powai where the Portugal church ruins are in a state of decay. There is a new church come up near the ruins, which is completely hiding them. “Since it’s a church ruin, people cannot demolish them, but they have been left to decay so that the land can be used for development,” said Mithali.
“We have identified catholic communities around the area and suggested that festivals be held there so that people visit them at least once a year. The ruins should be provided a roof and vegetation around them should be cleared,” she said.
The details have brought forward the issues at the sites and how they can be rectified. “On the way to the Dongri Hill, there were no trees also there was need for seats between stairs,” she pointed out. Also the benches have to planned in areas where for instance, there is natural shade from a house, she said.
Over 30 students of the Masters in Urban Conservation and Urban Design of the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environment Studies in Juhu undertook the week-long project. They were guided by internal faculty members Jimmy Bhiwandiwalla and Manoj Parmar and guest faculty from Portugal were Sidh Loss Mendiratta and Alice Santiago Faria.
