Oval is back in shape, breaks new ground

A beautifully green space once upon a time, Oval Maidan suffered colossal neglect over the years due to lack of imposition of rules and the government8217;s failure to exercise its authority to save the maidan. All that was left of it a couple of years agowas barren land, with an aerial view of 25-30 lanes running across. 8220;I live on the Oval and know what a struggle it has been to protect it,8221; says da Cunha, who has 50-year-old memories of riding on the Oval. 8220;Only when the OCRA institutionalised its efforts with the formation of Organisation for Verdant Ambience amp; Land Trust OVAL that things started to take shape,8221; he adds. OVAL is primarily funded by the Tata Trust, and the restoration work it has done has cost over Rs one crore.

8220;In our 15-year struggle, we have had to battle irrational government plans of building an athletic tract, a stadium, a shopping mall and six ramps by cutting the Oval to have an underground car park,8221; says Naina Katpalia, one of the seven OVAL trustees. 8220;Then there were drug peddlers, commercial sex workers and vagrants encroaching upon the maidan. Also, the southern end of the ground was being used as a dumping ground. Around 250 truckloads of debris had to be removed,8221; she says. So, OCRA asked the government forpermission to take care of the maidan. Saying no didn8217;t make sense, but since the state government, unlike the BMC, didn8217;t have the experience of giving land on sponsorship, the process took seven years.

When permission was obtained two years ago, OVAL got down to work. 8220;Fencing was our priority, for after years of neglect, the fence was broken at a number of places,8221; informs Shireen Bharucha, an OVAL trustee. Then came the undulated ground, the walking tract, lighting, gates, grass and the planting of palm trees. 8220;I can still see the palm-fringed Oval of the forties. It also had a riding-cum-walking tract, where I took riding lessons, and a boundary marked by pillars tied together with a chain,8221; says Katpalia. 8220;It8217;s such a pleasure to see it restored to what it was in my childhood days,8221; exults theatre personality Pearl Padamsee, who used to cross the Oval to go to her school. 8220;After a long period of neglect, it has finally come to look very beautiful,8221; she says.

8220;Rajabai Tower and the Oval havebeen two important symbols of Bombay,8221; says historian Sharda Dwivedi. 8220;For years, I used to cross the Oval to go to the university for my library science lectures. The trips were such a pleasure. But with the government changing its development plans, rather than doing something to protect our heritage, the maidan went from bad to worse,8221; she adds.

Dwivedi8217;s publishing company, Eminence, has designed the brochures for today8217;s inauguration of the Oval. Also, the proceeds of the first day8217;s sale of her book, Bombay 8212; the Cities Within, which amounted to Rs one lakh, went to the trust. 8220;Just a drop in the ocean, considering that the OVAL needs crores to maintain the ground,8221; she maintains. Another drop in the ocean has been from Bombay Collaborative, a firm of architects including Rahul Mehrotra and David Cardoz, which has designed the renovated plan for free.

Besides the seven cricket pitches 8212; something for which the maidan is known 8212; that will be leased out, the Oval now has 200 palm trees,gates that will remain closed between 10.00 pm and 6.00 am, a walking tract, lights, regular water supply from the underground borewell and 24-hour security. 8220;It8217;s an excellent example of what we should do for Mumbai as its citizens,8221; says da Cunha.