Heritage lovers urge BMC and Railways to preserve rare relics from Mumbai’s colonial past instead of letting them vanish as scrap
One of the old cannons discovered at the Sindoor bridge construction site. Pics/By Special Arrangement
Mumbai’s built heritage has thrown up another surprise. Heritage enthusiasts have stumbled upon a few old cannons at the site of the ongoing Sindoor bridge construction project. Activists are now urging municipal and railway authorities to secure the site and begin preservation efforts so these remnants of the city’s colonial past are not lost during the final stages of construction.
While Kunal Tripathi, who runs the popular X account @mumbaiheritage, spotted the cannons lying unattended, another activist, Chandan Vichare, has already sought the State Archaeological Department's intervention. Vichare said he has received permission to safeguard not just these cannons, but others scattered across the city as well.
With finishing works on the Sindoor bridge underway — including construction of pedestrian staircases and land levelling under the newly completed structure — Tripathi, an employee of the BEST Undertaking, urged authorities this week to ensure that the relics are properly documented, preserved, and displayed instead of being left to rust or removed as scrap.
“Finding these cannons at the Sindoor bridge site is like stumbling upon a page of Mumbai’s forgotten history. They are not just rusted metal, but symbols of when this city was a fortified outpost, guarding its shores and trade routes. Too many such discoveries have been lost to neglect or sold off as scrap. If preserved well, these cannons could become an educational and cultural asset — a reminder to future generations that Mumbai was once a thriving port with a strong military presence. Let us treat this discovery with the respect it deserves,” Tripathi told mid-day.
Vichare added, “I have been following up on the issue of such cannons lying across Mumbai. At Masjid Bunder, there are four cannons. Their details have been shared with the Archaeological Department, and I have received permission to remove them and hand them over to the State Archaeological Department as a project. I will, however, need support from the BMC and conservationists to shift them.”
According to records, the site once housed the Native Infantry Lines before the railways and bridges were built — as documented by this journalist in the book Halt Station India, the Dramatic Tale of the Nation’s First Lines.
City historian Bharat Gothoskar explained, “Cannons lie scattered across South Mumbai. Many defunct cannons were once installed as markers of the city’s limits along Lokmanya Tilak Marg. Others were repurposed as bollards to tie horses or boats. One even found a divine calling — worshipped as a Shivling in a small lane near Masjid Station. Now that more cannons have surfaced near Carnac Bridge, they should be conserved and displayed, either in municipal gardens or in a museum.”
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