MOU SIGNED WITH UNESCO IN PRESENCE OF HON'BLE MINISTER FOR RAILWAYS SHRI SURESH PRABHU

2015/06/PR

26-06-2015

Mumbai

MOU SIGNED WITH UNESCO IN PRESENCE OF HON'BLE MINISTER FOR RAILWAYS SHRI SURESH PRABHU

A MoU was signed in the presence of Hon'ble Minister for Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhu, with a vision to develop Bandra Heritage Station into a tourist and cultural quarter between Ministry of railways & UNESCO in a function held at Bandra Rly station o­n Friday, 26th June 2015. This Memorandum of Understanding was jointly signed by Mr Shigeru Aaoyagi, Director of UNESCO in India & Shri Manu Goyal, Executive Director (Heritage) of Railway Board. In the beginning, Shri S K Sood, General Manager, Western Railway welcomed all the guests present o­n this occasion. Shri Gopal Shetty, Hon'ble Member of Parliament; Shri Ashish Shelar, Hon'ble MLA; Ms Alka Kerkar, Hon'ble Dy Mayor of Mumbai;  Shri Shailendra Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager of Mumbai Central division and various senior railway officers were also present o­n this historic occasion. The function was compered by Shri Gajanan Mahatpurkar, Sr. Public Relations Officer of Western Railway. A short film depicting various heritage aspects of Bandra station was also displayed o­n this occasion.

Bandra Railway station in Mumbai is a listed Grade I heritage building and o­ne of the key landmarks of the area. As part of the study, a conservation plan will be developed to restore the heritage building, as well as a strategic plan to redesign the surrounding public spaces to improve traffic flow, signage, pedestrian paths, public amenities and cultural vibrancy. The study will begin in July next month and will be complete by end of this year.

National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad has also been approached to have a 3D Simulation/Walkthrough of the main station building, highlighting the heritage aspects and unique features of architectural design.

Bandra Railway station is o­ne of the finest suburban railway stations of Mumbai. Viewed from outside it projects a distinctive 19th century architectural form with its cascade of roof line. Thus it has rightly been notified as a grade I heritage structure in the Government of Maharashtra's heritage regulations of 1995. This station is o­ne of the sixteen heritage railway structures which feature an independent heritage list covering Western India region prepared by the Western Railway.

More than a century old railway station, an excellent architectural blend of Victorian Gothic and the Vernacular style, stands out as a prominent landmark on its site. Bandra Station was opened on 28th November, 1864. However, the magnificent heritage Bandra Station Building was built 24 years later in1888.

Over a century, some changes had been made to customize it according to the need of the day, like temporary rooms built, stone masonry painted etc. It was later decided to get back the original grand look of the station by carrying out restoration work. A conservation Consultant/Expert was appointed and restoration work completed in 2009, with the approval of Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee. Some of the restoration work carried out was structural repairs, restoration of Eaves board, steel and masonry components of the station building, anti-termite treatment to wooden work etc. Additions and alteration of the original building were largely demolished to restore the original look of the building.

Western Railway aims to reinforce the urban landmark image of Bandra station as the entry point into the queen of suburbs and develop it into a vibrant destination for heritage and culture and restore it to its original pristine glory and showcase it as a treasured Heritage Asset.

In the month of April, this year a 4 day long photo exhibition was held at Bandra station, showcasing the history of Bandra, alongwith model of miniature Bandra station. The exhibition received a very good response with thousands of rail enthusiasts, students etc thronging the site and appreciating the exhibition. The station building too has been lit up since then to bring to the fore the grandeur of the building.