Mumbai civic body's plan to celebrate 'essence of city' draws residents' ire

Marine Drive and the shimmering arc of the Queen's Necklace is the pride of Mumbai. The sweep, celebrated by filmmakers and writers, draws visitors by the droves every day for the scent of the sea and glorious sunsets, with Art Deco buildings lining the street on the other side

- Linah Baliga

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is resolute about changing the façade-30-odd sea-facing buildings, from the stretch of Princess Street flyover to the Air India Building, close to the southern tip of the precinct, will get uniform splash of colour afresh.

The civic body has roped in experts from the Sir JJ School of Art who have already made a presentation to enhance the beauty of PIC the stretch, which had earned the coveted THE UNESCO World Heritage Site tag on June 30, 2018.

The institute presented four themes to "celebrate the culture of Mumbai". The first was painting the Gateway of India, dabbawalas and local trains on the façade of the buildings. The second theme focused on festivals celebrated in the city and the third involved painting scenes of iconic Bollywood films that featured personalities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Raj Kapoor, Nargis, etc, and also the image of late Lata Mangeshkar.