Citizens write to BMC seeking Bandra Fort’s restoration back to original state, more green cover

However, section residents and activists were taken aback to find that not lone had the restoration tampered with the archetypal quality of the fort, but besides the greenish screen of the plot had been reduced significantly, owing to the concretisation. On Tuesday, residents submitted a missive to the elder civic officials expressing their dismay astatine the drastic simplification of greenery and the concretisation enactment successful the garden, deeming it ‘unsustainable’ and ‘anti-nature’.

“This ‘redevelopment’ of our existing greenish spaces by needlessly uprooting and replacing plants, changing the flooring tiles, and concretising ample areas which costs a whopping Rs 18.23 crore of taxpayer’s wealth is perfectly unnecessary and a sheer discarded and misuse of funds,” work a portion of the letter.

Natasha Pereira, a section nonmigratory who has been frequenting the fort since childhood, told The Indian Express that the caller concretisation has resulted successful important heating of the unfastened space, overmuch to the displeasure of residents. “The erstwhile greenish tract (near the waterfront promenade) has been replaced with concrete/basalt tiles successful which the sun’s blazing vigor is glaring to one’s eyes. Earlier, determination utilized to beryllium one-metre precocious shrubs, which person been removed and replaced with tiny bushes instead. Shockingly, adjacent the lotus pond is gone. While the plot utilized to beryllium bully and chill earlier, it has go precise blistery owing to concretisation,” lamented Pereira.

Besides restoring the greenery, the residents – successful their missive – person besides appealed to the BMC to reconstruct the lotus pond and instal benches beneath trees. For its part, the BMC maintains that the beautification has lone been undertaken successful the antecedently undeveloped areas, with much indigenous plantations slated to beryllium undertaken successful the adjacent signifier of works. A elder authoritative from BMC said that the existing greenish spaces person remained untouched.

“We person carried retired immoderate improvement enactment down the amphitheatre adjacent the remains of Byramjee Jeejeebhoy and the temple to marque the abstraction much accessible for the disabled. We person enactment up basalt successful the beforehand portion, wherever determination utilized to beryllium pebbles, but we person besides installed a batch of planters. Towards the entrance, we person besides planted gangly trees to heighten greenery,” helium said.