Restoring heritage

"The August Kranti Maidan where Mahatma Gandhi beckoned people to the Quit India movement is hemmed in today by encroachments, filthy public toilets, a garbage depot and drug dens while Azad Maidan, that earned its name from the country’s first war of independence in 1857 and hosted the country’s first cricket test match, is dwarfed by rows of slums and garbage around its periphery,” reported The Times of India (TOI) on August 2, 2016. These are the findings of a two-year study conducted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) along with Ratan J. Batliboi Consultants, one of Bombay’s leading architectural firms. The aim is to create positive changes in time for India’s 70th independence anniversary next year, reported TOI. Parsiana approached Batliboi (pictured) for further information but he was too tied up with back to back meetings to respond.
The report was presented to Maharashtra governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on August 1 at Raj Bhavan by ORF chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni who asked Rao: "Do we allow that invaluable heritage associated with the freedom movement to fade away or become victim of neglect by both government and society?” Regarding Kulkarni’s appeal for a public-private partnership to restore these areas, the governor assured that he would "take up the matter with the chief minister and the prime minister immediately. There will be need to coordinate with a number of parties and do things peacefully. I’m happy with the initiative. Now let us improve its strength!” TOI reported him as saying.
"Placemaking,” a new buzzword in urban renewal, will be required to preserve the heritage of these hallowed locations, and the master plan for a New Azad Maidan includes a memorial for 1857, a plaza with shops and eateries, a cricket museum, two multi-purpose green areas and a redefined area where protests can be held, notes TOI. A freedom trail that "will help visitors and students live through the years 1857 to 1942, study people and events that shaped the freedom movement” will be created at August Kranti Maidan, along with a museum, plaza, Quit India memorial, recreational spaces and pedestrian bridges, explained Gautam Kirtane of ORF who was involved with the survey. Conservation architect Abha Lambah noted, "We have one year and 14 days to go. If we could get started on funds under the state’s existing schemes we can start the restoration so that next year when we walk past these spaces we don’t have to hang our heads in shame.”