Work on Airoli theatre resumes

NAVI MUMBAI: Airoli will get a new play theatre in the next two years as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has resumed the construction work, six years after leaving it midway.

The four-storied auditorium will be ready by 2023. The civic body has allocated a budget of ₹64Cr for the project, a senior officer said.

In an effort to provide the residents of Airoli with a state-ofthe-art play theatre, the civic body had started working on it in 2014. Their initial plan was to develop a 550-seater theatre with a budget of ₹34Cr. However, they later reworked on the plan and decided to make it 865seater with a budget of ₹64Cr.

However, the construction firm that had received the contract just dug up a trench for developing the basements in one year. The NMMC ended the contract in 2015 and the trench has been lying unattended ever since. The tendering process was done a few times after that, but NMMC didn’t find any takers.

Girish Gumaste, executive engineer of NMMC, said, “We floated new tenders a few months ago and this time we have reached the final stage of the process. The remaining formalities will be completed in two months and the work at the site will start just after that. We will give the contractor two years to complete the project.”

According to Gumaste, apart from the auditorium, the premises will have parking facilities for 94 cars and 41 two-wheelers. There will also be an administrative office, two guest rooms, an exhibition area and a canteen.

Presently, the NMMC has only one auditorium, Vishnudas Bhave auditorium in Vashi.

Airoli resident, Sarushila Mhatre, 54, said, “With the first of its kind in this part of Navi Mumbai, we’ll be able to enjoy dramas and other events without having to travel to Vashi.”

BACHCHAN KUMAR/HT PHOTO The dug-up trench, where a play theatre will come up in Airoli in two years.