Mumbai: Will Metro Line III come at the cost of city's heritage?

The authorities are touting the Metro Line III as the future but is it worth it if it comes at the cost of our past our history Digging for the underground Metro corridor is yet to begin and just the preliminary construction work has led to vibrations in some of the citys oldest and most iconic structures Experts have raised concerns that unless the Metros route is changed it might cause extensive damage to the foundation of heritage buildings in the area some of which are over 100 years old In the worstcase scenario these vibrations may cause our heritage to crumbleIllustrationUday MohiteCrack of doomStructure Siddharth CollegeEstablished in 1946Heritage status Grade 2Significance Started by Dalit icon and the Father of the Constitution BR Ambedkar to afford equal educational opportunities for allThreat The 71yearold building had developed cracks earlier but these began to widen when the piling work began for Metro III Part of a pillar in the basement also collapsed due to the vibrations The college had earlier started a signature campaign against the Metro III work alleging that it was causing structural damage to the building and endangering the lives of students and staff At the time MMRC chief Ashwini Bhide had issued this statementacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088We would like to clarify that these cracks are oldhellip not because of the piling workNot a petit problemStructure JN Petit Library Established in 1898Heritage status Grade 2A Significance Home to hundreds of rare books its also one of the best examples of NeoGothic architecture in the city It was recognised with a UNESCO award in 2015Threat On August 25 an ornamental piece on the Petit structure fell off the building Following this trustees moved the Bombay High Court blaming the Metro construction Work outside Petit Library is currently stalled after the HC passed a stay order until the matter is heard MMRC is now carrying out support work at the building to ensure damage is minimisedWhat lies beneathA real horror storyStructure Wadia Atash Behram Established in 1830Heritage status Grade 3Significance It is the holiest of holy fires there are only nine of these in the worldThreat The Parsi community fears the desecration of the holy fire as the Metro III tunnel will pass right under the temple MMRC has explained that the tunnel will not pass under the sanctum sanctorum but Parsis object to the tunnels presence anywhere under the complex So far 10961 people have signed the communitys petition against Metro IIIAlls not wellStructure Bhikha Behram well Established in 1725Heritage status Grade I heritage structureSignificance It is one of the few Parsi wells in the city and one of Mumbais oldest sunken sweet water sourcesThreat There are concerns that the digging of the Metro III tunnel may drain out water from the subsoil completely Dr Rama Krishna Powai geologist had earlier told this paper I had concerns because the digging for the tunnel of the Metro line was going to be around 1218m Though the central line of excavation would pass about 50 ft 15 m from the well there is bound to be a drop in the water levelFountain of tremorsStructure Flora fountain Established in 1864Heritage status Grade I Significance The fountain depicts the Roman goddess Flora and is located at the spot where the churchside gate of the Old Mumbai Fort once stoodThreat In June engineers from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee MHCC wrote to the Metro authorities to warn that minor vibrations had been felt in the arms of the statue due to the piling work for Metro III Although the Metro line is 100m away from the fountain the vibrations could still pose a threat to the structures delicate masonry work MHCC official Sudarshan Shirsath had said