Mumbai’s Elphinstone Bridge lives on through preserved plaques and stones

The last span of the centuryold Elphinstone Bridge was brought down on Sunday to pave the way for a doubledeck connector but the old structurersquos plaques will be embedded in its replacementQuietly working behind the scenes with a push from Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee mdash who helped get funds sanctioned for the endeavourmdash Sanjay Adhav of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporationrsquos BMC Heritage Cell coordinated with MMRDA and Railways to save all the basalt stones and arches of the bridge These were documented and numbered by a team of conservationists led by Rahul ChemburkarA plaque from the old structure FILE PICmidday has been following upon the journey of the plaque and the stones which are in safe hands The earlier example of such restoration is the use of pillars from the old Reay Road bridge which are now living a second life in the August Kranti Maidan entry gate wallAdhav executive engineer of the civic bodyrsquos heritage conservation department said ldquoStones and arches saved from Elphinstone bridge will be used appropriately for heritage conservation of old buildings and city infrastructure while the plaques will be embedded in the new design of the bridge and conservation architects are working on thisrdquoPreservation effortsTo preserve the two engraved foundation stones on Elphinstone Bridge several discussions were held in various meetings between BMC and MMRDA officials along with officers from STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd A specialised expert agency was appointed for the dismantling and safe removal of these heritage stones The stones were successfully retrieved and returned in safe condition to the senior division engineer of the Environment and Housekeeping Management Office of Central Railway CRThe spot in Parel over which the historic Elphinstone Bridge used to hang on Sunday PicAshish RajeFactoidElphinstone Bridge was named after Lord John Elphinstone the nephew of the more famous Lord Mountstuart Elphinstone the man after whom Elphinstone College in South Mumbai is named Both Elphinstones served as Governors of Bombay in the 1800s three decades apartlsquoThese small acts of continuity matterrsquoDeepak Rao city historianlsquoElphinstone Bridge was built at a time when Mumbai was growing See how it stood the test of time The stonecarved plaques are still in a good state Itrsquos good to know that they have been savedrsquoRailway heritageCR Mumbairsquos Divisional Railway Manager Hiresh Mina helped save the engraved plaque by directing officials to take possession of it from the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd team that dismantled the bridgeConservation SpeakRahul Chemburkar conservation architectlsquoWe at VaastuVidhan undertook the documentation of this bridge conducting a thorough study in collaboration with the heritage cell of BMC Subsequently we created documentation drawings of the stone masonry and meticulously marked every stone prior to the bridgersquos dismantling With built heritage vanishing from the city documentation and studies help to build an archive and understanding of an era when Mumbairsquos infrastructure was first being builtrsquoBharat Gothoskar city chronicler and founder KHAKIlsquoThe bridge was undeniably an important part of the Girangaon or mill land in Central Mumbai The approach ramps were made in stone while the central span above the railway lines was prefabricated in Glasgow Scotland and assembled here using rivets It is heartening to know that the plaques are being conserved thanks to the requests by heritage activistsrsquoR Ventakesh researcher and historianlsquoWith the bridge gone multigenerational memories are lost a familiar sight of grounding of over a hundred years of collective consciousness is lost The new doubledeck bridge is at best for only personal car movement End of an erarsquoKunal Tripathi who runs social media account Mumbai HeritagelsquoFor generations Elphinstone Bridge was more than just a crossing it was part of the cityrsquos daily rhythm connecting neighbourhoods people and memories While redevelopment is necessary for a growing city it is reassuring that its plaque has been preserved These small acts of continuity matter because they ensure that even as Mumbai changes its skyline it does not completely lose sight of the stories that built itrsquo