We cannot allow history to be relegated to the dustbin!

Pic/Ashish Raje

Despite earlier assurances that the historic elements of the century-old Elphinstone bridge would be carefully preserved, the original cast-iron plaque bearing the 1913 date and builder's details has been damaged during demolition work, our report said.

The plaque was one of the last surviving artefacts linking the bridge to Mumbai's early 20th-century railway heritage. Officials had previously stated that the plaque would be safely removed and restored before dismantling began. However, on-site sources confirmed that the plate was struck and fractured by contractors' machinery while demolishing the stone abutment. Heritage enthusiasts and local residents have expressed dismay, calling it a "careless loss of history" amid the rush to clear the structure for the new double-deck bridge project.

Built in 1913 by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR), the Elphinstone - later known as Prabhadevi bridge - connected Parel's mill district with Prabhadevi's western neighbourhoods. Its demolition is part of a large-scale infrastructure upgrade that will see a new double-deck road-over-rail bridge by 2027. Heritage lovers have long highlighted the cultural and historical value of the bridge's details - from the imported Glasgow steel girders to the cast-iron plaques that bore testimony to Mumbai's industrial rise.

Heritage and history cannot be dismissed as flippant or dispensable. Such precious markers simply cannot be allowed to become ‘collateral damage' while infra development projects go ahead. In fact, there must be a practical, actionable plan at inception about how and when these historical markers are to be removed and where they will be stored until the project reaches completion. They are part of the city and cannot simply be dispensed with. Even when new infra is made, it must be installed somewhere so that people know the story of Mumbai. That, too, is a piece of the past worth preservation.