Rs 10 crore grant for CSMT restoration

The central railways has received a financial grant worth Rs ten crore on Tuesday from a foundation for restoring the heritage building of Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). The State Bank of India Foundation has partnered with the central railways over the period of at least five years for the conservation project. On Monday, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the central railways and State Bank of India Foundation for conserving the heritage structure.

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a non-profit organisation has been assinged the work of identifying the defects in the heritage building.

“We were assigned the work of identifying defects in the structure on the southern and eastern facade of the iconic railway station of Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). We have submitted the maps to the central railways which reflects the minor defects in the structure and awaiting an approval from the railways to restore the remaining structures,” said Vikas Dilawari, a conservation architect, appointed by INTACH for restoration work. The CSMT building needs to be restored as many structures have been broken and are covered in dust due to pollution. At several places, the building has symbolic structures including 'lady of progress,' which shows a female figure holding a torch pointing upward in one hand and a spoked wheel in the other.

“Structures like these needs to be restored as many parts are broken and covered in dust. We hope to restore the iconic structure through the funds received from the SBI foundation," said an official.

The southern side of the station building also has a unique three structures that represent Industry, Commerce and Trade which would be restored under the project.