Two British-era cannons to adorn Mumbai garden

These two 310metre long 165yearold steel cannons were among the scores of large guns which once protected the opentosea borders of Mumbai but now they will face inwards and deployed to enhance the beauty of the citys gardensIn an unique initiative the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has decided to restore refurbish and erect the two over 16decades old cannons of the British East India Co era in an east Mumbai suburban park soonThe British rulers had installed these cannons in many places to protect the seaencircled Mumbai its ports harbours the mint and other important installations From these two steel canons are still sturdy and in good shape said BMC Gardens Superintendent Jitendra PardeshiPresently lying in the Lions Childrens Park Ghatkopar the Additional Municipal Commissioner East Ashwini Bhide has approved the proposal to reinstal both the cannons in a grand manner and sent it to the Archaeological Preservations Engineer for further actionBuilt in 1971 the Lions Children Park is spread across 55843 sq feet of lush greenery frequented by thousands daily with the two Britishera cannons silently lying there virtually neglectedBoth cannons are 310 metres long with an inner and outer circumference of 064 and 117 metres respectively are made of steel and have NCPC and 1856 inscribed in Roman scriptPardeshi said that the Municipal Antiquities Preservation engineer will soon restore the two cannons to their original glory and they shall be reinstalled on a magnificent high platform affording Mumbaikars a bit of leisure with a historical touchMumbai and its surroundings are dotted with several big and small remnants like fortress walls with bastions cannons guns maze of underground tunnels like the ones in Raj Bhavan or the General Post Office old milestones quaint fountains a few underground freshwater tanks and other marvels dating to the British Raj some discovered and many probably unknownExperts and history enthusiasts have estimated that there could be 250plus such old cannons scattered across the city some visible and others outofsight but mostly in a dilapidated condition including two standing majestically atop a hill on the Elephanta Island a UNESCO World Heritage site around 10 kms off Mumbai in the Arabian SeaThough a few lucky ones are quite wellpreserved inside public buildings some abandoned outside a railway station at least one is worshipped as part of a makeshift temple and others are put to ingenious uses by the locals who are oblivious of their historic valueThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever