Nagpada junction beautification kicks off

Mumbai: A step garden with a walkway and a 25-metre flag pole with the tricolour will form part of the Nagpada junction beautification project, the groundbreaking ceremony of which was held on Sunday night.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and local corporator Rais Shaikh had floated the idea to beautify the junction and the proposal was recently approved by the Brihanamumbai Municipal Corporation’s standing committee.

The garden can be used for gatherings or events. The design has been prepared by architect Hafeez Contractor, and the project, which will be executed at a cost of ₹ 5 crore, will take nine months to complete. It will be spread across 600 square metres.

“This is our way of restoring the junction to its lost glory. We want to do away with the haphazard development and instead have a good island at the centre. People will assemble here once again,” Mr. Shaikh said. The groundbreaking ceremony was done at the hands of SP leader Abu Azmi.

“Beautification is fine, but we want the traffic chaos in the area to be resolved. There is double parking on many roads. Buses often get caught in traffic. Number of two-wheelers is also very high. We need more traffic police personnel here,” said Adnan Siddiqui, a resident.

Nagpada and Madanpura have been home to political movements. Before India’s independence, many political gatherings were organised at this junction.