Mumbai: Fight for museum at CSMT is hurting railway station, literally

Railway employees protest in the courtyard of CSMTThe fight over whether or not to have a museum at the UNESCOlisted World Heritage building of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus CSMT is killing the iconic structure itself literally In what can be termed as the first major damage to it in recent years a pillar and decorative works on the main south facade of the building broke and collapsed a day after railway employees staged a protest in the courtyard They are against the proposal to convert the building into a worldclass transport museumWhile railway officials said the trade unions had tied cloth banners to the pillar in question and put up loudspeakers on it which can be seen in numerous photographs of the protest that have been circulated the union that organised the protest mdash Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh CRMS mdash said yesterday its not responsible for the damageAlso read Railways Ministrys plan to turn CSMT into museum chugs into controversyThe damaged facadeCRMS vice president Amit Bhatnagar said It is a strong building that has weathered generations of railwaymen how can small things like tying banners and speakers damage it We respect our place of work and this is some conspiracy to show us in bad light I completely refute this allegation by railway officials that the damage happened because of the rally This needs deeper investigationThe gaping holeThe damage was found early last morning during the routine cleanup A large twofoot portion of the decorative pillar entangled with the nylon rope was found broken on the floor with the main pillars top sliced up Railway officials who inspected the damage said the protesting trade union had put up flags banners and a huge loudspeaker on the facade A makeshift stage had been set up exactly where the damage has been foundThe pillar in question had a large loudspeaker tied to it and it was probably during its removal later that the damage was done We have conducted a basic assessment of the damage and will take it up for repair soon Phase II of the buildings conservation is on well see what can be done to fix this an official said Central Railway Mumbais Divisional Railway Manager S K Jain who is the custodian of the heritage building said he would look into the matter I will get this examined to find out what exactly happenedArchitects appalledConservation architect Vikas Dilawari who has been associated with CSMT restoration for a very long time expressed shock and said it was heartbreaking to see the front faccedilade damaged This is totally unacceptable Its repair will always remind us of what happened here It is a very sad episode he lamentedThe damaged pillar and its chunk found on the floor yesterdayAnother conservation architect Rahul Chemburkar said This is more than sheer negligence It shows how we as a society are becoming insensitive towards our cultural heritage Our notions of aesthetics and culture have become shallow We take pride in abusing our own cultural identities Such deeds should be treated as punishable offencesRise of an iconThe iconic building designed by Fredrick William Stevens which became the head office of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway between 1878 and 1888 entered UNESCOs World Heritage list in 2004 and is one of the 36 World Heritage sites in India The main structure is built from a blend of Indian sandstone and limestone while highquality Italian marble has been used for key decorative elementsAlso read CR employees Wont let CSMT be turned into museumCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates