The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is reportedly planning to begin preservation of Gilbert Hill after historians recommended the turning of this region in Andheri into a tourist spot. The civic body has now started cleaning the area while also setting up boards that detail the history of the region.
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This comes as a heritage walk was conducted by historians who invited BMC officials from the K West ward (Andheri) to give them an idea about the historical significance of this site as well as the 61-metre monolithic column. The visit was conducted as part of the BMC’s ‘Know Your Neighbourhood’ initiative.
Historians said that Gilbert Hill was known to be more than 66 million years old and is only one of the three such monuments in the world. This column is a unique formation of hexagonal basalt columns ranging in the thousands that were created by volcanic activity.
“The idea to invite BMC officials and politicians was to make them understand the rich history of this place. There are tons of places in the corners of this city that have historic significance. These places can be turned into tourist spots that could also generate employment and business for the locals there,” historian and founder of Khaki Tours, Bharat Gothoskar said.
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Assistant Municipal Commissioner of the K West ward, Vishwas Mote said, “We will ensure public participation and upkeep by involving locals.” Officials added that the Gaondevi Temple trust will be involved in the maintenance and upkeep of the hill.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Shiv Sena, Priyanka Chaturvedi also took part in the heritage walk. “I discussed with BMC officials to identify similar places that have a historic significance, located in and around Andheri-Juhu area that we could bring up as a model project. I requested the ward officers to prioritise cleaning. We can also focus on putting up boards and signages,” the MP said.
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