Mayor to move to Byculla bungalow in two months

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has handed over the plot of the mayor’s bungalow to the Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial Trust for the construction of a memorial. However, it will still take Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar a couple of months to vacate the premises and shift to his new official residence at Byculla zoo.

According to sources, the mayor is likely to move to a civic bungalow in the Veermata Jijabai Udyan and zoo campus at the end of December or January. Currently, the additional municipal commissioner A. L. Jarhad lives at the Byculla bungalow. The BMC will have to provide him with an alternative accommodation before the mayor shifts there.

“The mayor is likely to vacate the bungalow after the memorial’s bhoomi pujan. However, the BMC will also have to carry out restoration of the Byculla Zoo bungalow to facilitate his stay. The entire process is likely to take couple of months,” said an official.

Ironically, the mayor had initially fiercely objected to the plan of shifting his residence to the Byculla zoo, citing that the area falls under a silence zone. “How can they expect me to live inside the zoo?” he had said. However, he is now ready to shift to the bungalow.

 “I have agreed to move in to the bungalow inside Byculla zoo. I will vacate the existing bungalow at Shivaji Park so that a grand memorial for Balasaheb Thackeray can be built soon,” he added.

The decision to shift Mr Mahadeshwar to a civic bungalow at Byculla Zoo was taken last week in the presence of top Shiv Sena leaders and municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta.