Minister of state for railways, Raosaheb Danve, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. (Express photo)The renovated Byculla railway station, which is over 169 years old, was inaugurated by Raosaheb Danve, minister of state for railways, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday.
With the renovation, the heritage railway station in Mumbai has regained its original Gothic architectural glory, said an official.
The work to restore the ancient architecture of the railway station, one of India’s oldest, began on July 20, 2019 with a bhoomi poojan by then railway minister Piyush Goyal.
According to officials, the project was to be completed in 18 months. However, owing to the pandemic it took three years for this huge project to take shape.
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“The task of the entire planning and execution was completed recently and the Byculla railway station has been restored to its almost original, ancient, heritage architecture with excellence,” said an official, adding that the sign boards were implanted using original signage bracket designs discovered on-site during the restoration work.
Explaining how the heritage precinct has been restored, the official said the iconic grill was painted as per the historic paint scrapes found on-site and that teak wood panelling formed a large ticketing window with a tinted glass fanlight.
“The exercise of facade restoration included cleaning of the basalt stone facade, restoration of original fenestration such as doors, windows, grills and gates. Restoration of the timber truss roof, Mangalore tiles and smaller lean-to roofs along the facade has been done. Ramps and steps were added to make the station accessible to all,” said an official.
This project was initiated by BJP leader Shaina NC, trustee of the NGO I Love Mumbai, in loving memory of her father and ex-sheriff of Mumbai, the late Nana Chudasama, with the support of Bajaj Group and Abha Narain Lambah Associates as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives, under the guidance of Central Railway officials.
Minal Bajaj and Niraj Bajaj of Bajaj Group and Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation funded the Rs 4 crore project. And heritage conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah took up the project free of cost, said a railway official.
Shaina said her father Nana Chudasama had always worked towards a clean and green environment through his NGOs I Love Mumbai and Giants International, now known as Giants Welfare Foundation.
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