Mumbai, Jan 5: Mumbai’s iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) is facing the threat of losing its UNESCO World Heritage tag. This comes after Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal expressed the desire of converting it into a museum.
According to a report in Mail Today, any alteration with the usage or structure of the building will put it on the risk of losing its Heritage tag. According to the report, Central Railway has moved a proposal seeking to vacate the CSMT building and has sought for a new zonal headquarter building.
The report a senior official of the Railways’ heritage wing as citing a past precedence of a UNESCO warning after the government had begun the construction of a bridge to connect Hampi and Anegundi. UNESCO had said that the construction would cause damage to the monuments and the natural landscape. However, after years of persuasion, it gave a go-ahead to the bridge with several corrective measures.
The report, however, quotes a senior official as saying that they are aware of the norms and will go ahead with the project only after informing officials.
CST, built in 1888, was given the World Heritage tag by UNESCO in 2004. It is the second most photographed site in India after Taj Mahal.