17 September,2016 09:52 AM IST | | Laxman Singh
VP Road police have encroached upon a 115-year-old British-era Grade II heritage structure at Do Taaki and the BMC is doing nothing about it
A local resident has complained to the authorities that the VP Road police station has encroached on the heritage piyao from all sides, completely blocking it out of view. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
While south Mumbai's iconic Flora Fountain is finally getting a facelift, its lesser known cousin, a 115-year-old piyao, is now drowning in encroachment. Even though this British-era fountain is a heritage structure, it is being ruined by the very people who are supposed to protect it - Mumbai Police.
The British-era drinking fountain is not just a beautiful structure that is testament to the architecture of the time, but it also serves as a very specific historic landmark for its location - the Do Taki junction. Now, however, it's hard to even spot the piyao through all the encroachment - all that can be seen of it is the roof, peeking over the illegal structures on all sides.
Complaint letter
A local resident has alerted the authorities with a written complaint, alleging that the encroachment is the work of none other than the local police station at VP Road. On one side, a temporary shed has engulfed the piyao, while on the other side, the view of the fountain has been blocked by an allegedly illegal top two storeys of the police station.
The picture on the left shows the piyao and its beautiful architecture, while the one on the right shows how it has been engulfed by encroachments on all sides. Only the roof can be seen, peeking out over the surrounding illegal structures. Pic Courtesy/ 'Exploring the Water Heritage of Mumbai' and Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
The anonymous letter has been forwarded to the BMC chief, police commissioner, the local ward office and the heritage committee. It states: "The VP Road police station has erected a two-floor illegal structure. The area surrounding the 'Do Taki' structure was also covered illegally with huge sheds. All RTIs, government and BMC plans, old photos clearly say that all constructions by the police station on and around this historical structure are illegal."
In the book 'Exploring the Water Heritage of Mumbai', professor and head of the History department at SNDT Women's University, Dr Varsha Shirgaonkar wrote that the piyao was built at the Do Taki junction in 1901 to commemorate the two tanks there that maintained continuous water supply for local residents.
Historical significance
"These tanks were filled up in 1900 and piyao was erected there by the municipality to mark the site of the historic 'Two Tanks'," wrote Dr Varsha. Due to its historical significance, the piyao has been notified as a Grade 2A heritage building - which is a category assigned to structures that are of local importance and possess special architectural, aesthetic or historic significance.
It is completely illegal to build any additional structures around such a heritage building without taking permission from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC). As it is, this is one of the few remaining piyaos in south Mumbai. "Since it is a Grade 2A structure and is culturally important, such encroachments should not be allowed," Rahul Chemburkar, who initiated the Mumbai Pyau Project (MPP) to document and conserve the vanishing fountains in SoBo.
The heritage committee has forwarded a copy of the complaint to the local ward office for necessary action. A senior heritage official said, "We have alerted the local ward office about the encroachment on the fountain. This is not the first time when a citizen has sent such a notice - four months ago, a similar letter was received by our office about unauthorised structures."
When mid-day contacted the assistant municipal commissioner of C-ward (Bhuleshwar), JS Gheghadmal, he said there is no unauthorised structure at the spot. When this paper pointed out the shed that had overshadowed almost the entire fountain, he responded: "I will send my staff to check about the shed. Some local people are trying to shift the police station from the area and are making a false complaint."
The other side
Senior Inspector Sanjay Kamble, of VP Road police station, said, "We erected the shed to protect the fountain from the rain. We will remove it and write to heritage experts to restore the fountain."
