To draw citizens towards art and books, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is about to introduce mobile art galleries and libraries to the city streets. After a green signal to the project, the civic body has procured about five scrapped buses from Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) which are slated to be refurbished for the proposed project. While locations are yet to be finalised, one of the buses will be stationed at the JJ signal. With the idea mooted by Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar, the civic body will convert out-of-service single and double-decker buses, which have gone off the roads, into art galleries and libraries. Following retro-fitting, the buses will be stationed across several pockets of the city’s A and B wards on a pilot basis. According to the guardian minister, the proposal seeks to offer a stage to budding talent where they can showcase their abilities amid the increasingly tough process of availing slots at existing art galleries. Speaking to reporters during a press conference, Kesarkar said, “The city’s Jehangir art gallery has a waiting period of over two years. To enable artists to showcase their work amid such challenges, BEST has given us some scrapped double decker buses that will be converted into art galleries and libraries. These buses will be situated in congested areas wherein developmental works are hard to execute.” He said that one such bus will be stationed near the busy JJ junction and the area beneath the bridge, which has been encroached upon by anti-social elements, will be cleared to make room for other beautification work. Vijay Singhal, general manager of BEST undertaking, told The Indian Express, “We have handed over five buses as per BMC's request. Since these are scrapped buses, they will be useful for BMC's art gallery project." This latest proposal comes along the heels of BMC's plans to ferry a ‘gym on wheels’ for women, a bus replete with gym equipment, across Mumbai slums on a pilot basis. Currently in its final stage, the roving gyms are slated to hit the streets this month. An idea conceptualised to cater to the needs of housewives and working women who end up neglecting health amidst busy daily routines, officials have said that the pilot project aims to deploy the vehicles across the slum pockets of the megapolis. Earlier, in November, BMC had said it would transform scrapped buses into mobile toilets for women. Under the banner of ‘Mahilasathi Swacchatagruha’ or Pink Utility centres, the buses are being procured through the corporate social responsibility scheme with the first utility centre set to be introduced adjoining the Byculla station.
