A dozen years after being named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Central Railway (CR) has finally pulled up its socks and will
A dozen years after being named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Central Railway (CR) has finally pulled up its socks and will be inviting commuters to be a part of a heritage week at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), starting from July 4. CST was recognised as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2004 but the CR has been blamed for not using this status to the fullest and failing to showcase it to the common man.
The heritage tag was assigned to the structure, as it is a confluence of Victorian Gothic as well as Indian and Italian architecture. Speaking to the media, CR’s additional general manager A.K. Srivastava said they will be starting a spate of interactions and programmes for Mumbaikars and have chosen July 4, since it was the date on which the world heritage tag was awarded to CST. “Commuters will be provided with a heritage walk, where the commuters will be allowed to see the otherwise restricted area of CST. These areas house the world-renowned Gothic structures and the tour will be provided with a guide who will explain the finer details,” said Mr Srivastava.
Talking about the lack of such initiatives in the past, Mr Srivastava said that this is the first step in putting things right. “A lot of commuters and the media have been very critical of the fact that we have not able to use the beautiful structure at its fullest. We at CR want to free people from this grouse and will also be providing exhibitions and interactions with those who maintain the structure to make the heritage week more interesting,” he further added.
The CR will announce the timings and cost of these tours on Thursday.
