Churchgate heritage eyes tentative world list

Shyam Sunder Gupta,chief spokesperson for Western Railway,said the railway has been making sincere efforts for several years to preserve and showcase its heritage. The heritage building of Bandra station was restored and work has also been done on the Churchgate administrative building,otherwise known as the general manager’s office.

The proposal to have the building listed in the tentative list was forwarded by the Railway Board in New Delhi recently. “WR has started preparations for getting it included in the final list. If it is included in the tentative list,it opens a door of hope for world heritage status too,” said a senior official.

For more than a century,the building has witnessed the growth of Mumbai and the Mumbai Railway Suburban System. It had been built in 1894-99 under Victorian architect Frederick William Stevens,assisted by Raosaheb Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya as resident engineer.

The building is a combination of Gothic,Italian and Saracenic features. It is faced with blue basalt stone; the domes,mouldings,capitals,columns,cornices and carvings are in Kurla,Dhrangadhra and Porbander stone.

Restoration efforts,at a budget of Rs 44.28 lakh,were done between January 2007 and May 2009. The ebony and hard cement paint was removed and replaced by lime mortar paint. Vegetation was removed using high pressure jets and a specialised cleaning technique.

The multiple domes were repaired by cement grouting and special stone lime mortar. Damaged wooden members on the roof too were replaced,damaged stone columns replaced by special techniques and stainless steel bars provided to avoid rust. A heritage gallery has been developed on the ground floor.

TIMELINE
1855: Bombay,Baroda and Central India Railway incorporated with Surat as headquarters
1863: Shifted to Lalbaug,Parel,in Bombay
1867: Local suburban railway services begin between Virar and a temporary station called Bombay Back Bay
1870: Steady increase in services and passengers
1889: BB & CI Company granted plot opposite Churchgate Street station
1894-99: Construction of present headquarters,at Rs 7.5 lakh