Five Gardens makeover

A musical fountain, horse riding area and children’s nature park are part of a makeover plan by the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) for Dadar Parsi Colony’s Five Gardens. But, taking residents’ views into account, there will be no fancy road arches and food plazas, reported Hindustan Times (HT) of April 2, 2008. Earlier, the Mancherji Edalji Joshi Colony Residents’ Association had floated an adoption proposal with the help of Bombay Dyeing to change the face of the dying gardens where rusted and broken railings, damaged furniture and fountains used for washing clothes had replaced the quaint, clean walkers’ paradise they once were, HT notes.

"But now that the civic body has given a plan which will revamp the gardens, we will wait for the change. After that the BMC will be giving the gardens to us on adoption basis which we will maintain,” said Zarine Engineer, member of the Residents’ Association and granddaughter of Mancherji Joshi, founder of the Colony.

As a direct result of citizen pressure, an earlier civic plan to construct skywalks over the gardens was shelved by the BMC. The accepted plan for the revamp of Five Gardens will now include restored grilles and railings around the gardens, new heritage style benches and seats around tree trunks, jogging tracks, innovative play apparatus, a musical fountain in the central garden, heritage style lamp posts, phone booths and post boxes, new open gym apparatus, horse riding area and a children’s forest zone with paths and trees with name boards, HT informs.