Mumbai's old buildings that are in desperate need of restoration

While Flora Fountain Cama Building and the Mulji Jetha Fountain got a muchneeded fresh lease of life in 201617 after how many decades of lying decrepit is a conversation for another time there are many more in desperate need of restoration of their earlier shining glory Work on Crawford Market and Town Hall has started and we can just hope it doesnt drag on for yearsAlberobello village was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 for its trulli whitewashed dwellings capped with conical roofsThese two however are among the lucky few as several other dilapidated ones are desperately waiting for attention In our obsession for the new drilling and other works being done for Metro III have been taking a toll on the heritage structures in the vicinity we dont seem to have eyes on the oldThe dilapidated Esplanade Mansion has been up for a revamp for the last many years but nothing has progressed so farJ N Petit Institute a heritage building on DN Road was finally forced to move HC over damage to its 119yearold structure and to other heritage buildings in the vicinity due to MMRCLs tunnelling and excavation work there for Metro III The HC has ordered the Metro body to stop the work for two weeks so that a survey can be conductedCitizenstakeJaya Shetty Assistant ManagerWhile the civic administration does what it can to preserve heritage buildings citizens seem to keep their contribution limited to just visiting these places They should actively try and keep these monuments clean by not spitting on them or writing on their walls Cleanliness is paramountRoopa Gopalkrishnan artistMumbai is largely indifferent to its amazing heritage We take these structures for granted Take the chawls of SoBo for example which were actually built in the 1910s Theyre no more well maintained than slums We should be taking a few cues from developed nations and refurbish and renew local architectureExpert opinionV Ranganathan exMHCC chairmanWe find there is no appreciation of heritage and the need to preserve it in the minds of policymakers Land being dear in city economic forces are always at work There is a tendency to dilute the rules and allow heritage deteriorationRahul Chemburkar ArchitectWhen we talk about heritage we only think of structures in the island city like CST Heritage in the suburbs is equally important Heritage conservation needs to expand to cover the entire city868Number of heritage structures in the city as per a 2012 list01Heritage structures in city having UNESCO tag1867The year Flora Fountain was built1031Total number of world heritage sites globally1978The year UNESCOs first list of protected places came out07Indias rank in UNESCOs list of countries with most heritage sitesTriviaAhmedabad Certified as Indias FirstWorld Heritage Citythis yearItaly Country with the most no of world heritage sites 51Myanmar Country with the least number of world heritage sites 1 along with ParaguayArab states Region having the least number of world heritage sites 79 and the most under threat 33Chipping offEsplanade MansionAfghan Church ColabaRegal CinemaErosHornby BuildingSaroosh Building Fort Amdar Niwas ColabaEtcA fresh coatFlora FountainCama BuildingMulji Jetha Fountain picturedWork in progressCrawford MarketTown Hall