The citizens of Bandra West are strongly opposing the Bollywood-themed installations below the Metro 2B pillars from the Bandra to Juhu stretch, calling it a project to please a contractor. They demanded that shrubs be planted below the Metro 2B line and alongside pillars, similar to other sections of Metro lines in Mumbai.
“If the authorities want to invest in beautification, they should plant shrubs that will be soothing to the eyes and increase greenery, instead of those artificial installations,” said Naazish Shah from Bandra, who is part of the environment activists’ group fighting to preserve the Bandra West coastline.
“We will officially raise our objections against this project. We have prepared a draft and in the next two days, we will write to the BMC, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and local MLA Ashish Shelar to remove the installations, which are an eyesore and could end up creating a nuisance,” said Shah.
Former local Congress corporator Asif Zakaria also recently flagged the manner through which the MMRDA proposed to spend a whopping Rs350 crore on Bollywood-themed installations under Metro 2B from Bandra to Juhu. “For any public project beyond Rs10 lakh, tenders need to be floated. However, in this case, no tenders or Express of Interest were invited. The MMRDA commissioner used his powers to start the project,” said Zakaria.
He asked, “The Metro line inauguration is still a couple of years away. What is the urgency of erecting the installations right in the middle of the busy SV Road?” Terming them as “ghastly structures”, Zakaria wondered, “Are people going to stop on the footpath just to see them? The expensive installations could be vandalised and who will maintain them.”
Zakaria, the former BMC standing committee member, has also written to the MMRDA, questioning the “undue haste” in appointing contractors and consultants, highlighting that there are more practical ways to pay tribute to Bollywood. “It’s wasting the taxpayers’ money,” he said.
