City gets waste-to-energy plant; viewing deck soon
MUMBAI: City guardian minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday inaugurated the city’s first waste-to-energy plant at Haji Ali that will generate 300 units of electricity from 2,000kg of waste. Thackeray also performed the bhoomi pujan for the construction of a viewing deck at Girgaum Chowpatty, that will be built on an existing storm water drain outfall near Chowpatty.
The plant constructed from corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds will generate 250300 units of power everyday that will be used by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for electrification of public parks. “The project is expected to generate about 250 to 300 units of electricity per day. Initially, the power will be used in a municipal park and a solid waste segregation centre. The project will result in partial savings in municipal electricity costs as well as savings in waste transportation costs,” BMC said in a statement.
Further, Thackeray also performed the groundbreaking ceremony for starting the construction of a 475 square metre viewing deck near Girgaum Chowpatty. The viewing gallery, named as ‘Darshak Gallery’, is being constructed from the tourism point of view.
“The gallery will be set up by taking into consideration tides, altitudes and pressures from a scientific point of view. All the necessary permissions for the gallery have already been obtained and it is expected that the gallery will be up and running in the next three months,” the statement added.
BMC has planned a nature’s trail for tourism, a few metres away from this gallery. According to the plan, citizens will get a 700-metre-long walkway at Malabar Hill in the next few months to get a bird’s eye view of the Arabian Sea. The walkway will be located near Babulnath Temple and will wind through the hill forest, giving unobstructed scenic views of the Arabian Sea and the bustling city. The design for the forest trail at Malabar Hill is expected to be constructed without cutting any tree, as the concept is to build lush greenery.
Meanwhile, Thackeray inaugurated the beautification plan for Mahim beach. Under this plan, BMC undertook the cleaning of the beach and setting up of a 30-metre-high viewing tower that gives a panoramic view of Arabian Sea and the Bandraworli Sea Link.