In three years, you will see CST in a new light

Mumbai: Evenings at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus will no longer be the same if a Rs 4.86 crore project for architectural theme lighting is implemented at the world heritage monument. The special financial assistance has been provided by the Centre's ministry of tourism.

"Since the tourism ministry has sanctioned Rs 4.86 crore, we will develop architectural theme lighting of the main building and open it to visitors at designated times in the evening. Let the people of Mumbai and tourists enjoy the intricate architecture. It will add to the CST's popularity,'' M C Chauhan, divisional railway manager, CR, told TOI on Thursday.

A week after he took over the reins of the Central Railway in April 2008, Chauhan found that despite the fact that CST was a world heritage monument, the lighting on the landmark building was inadequate, which did not do justice to its intricate architectural details. "We were told that the tourism ministry extends financial assistance for the beautification of heritage monuments, so we took it up with the Centre. A week ago, our proposal was approved. We will ensure that our plan is implemented in a time-bound period,'' Chauhan said.

At present, the heritage building has 168 light fittings, which are a decade old and consume 32.95 KW of power per hour. The life of each filament fitting is limited and incurs repeated costs. Instead of the metal halide and halogen lamps that were state-of-the-art 10 years ago, it has now been proposed to use LED-light emitting diode-fittings that consume about 11 KW of power per hour and bring out the Gothic character and essence of the building.

The lighting, with special effects, would make CST a prominent destination for tourists at night. "The architectural details highlighted at night would add to the glory of the structure. The main objective is to focus on the heritage status of the monument,'' Chauhan said.

Along with thematic lighting, CR has also proposed to set up a heritage museum in the main building. "The proposed museum will convey the history of the Central Railway through 36 panels and 50 objects collected from various parts of the network,'' he said.
Tourism secretary Anand Kulkarni said it will be a joint venture between the CR and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation. "The project has been funded by the ministry of tourism. As a nodal agency, MTDC will extend full cooperation to the CR to implement the prestigious project and that too in a time bound period,'' Kulkarni said.

Kulkarni said the project will be commissioned within 36 months and any cost escalation on account of delay, would be met by the state government, for which there will no reimbursement from the Centre.