BMC to rebuild tree house, beautify Old Woman’s Shoe in Rs 5-cr revamp of twin SoBo parks

MUMBAI: The iconic Hanging Gardens may soon get a facelift that will draw in more visitors and wow even those admiring it from a distance. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to improve the ‘hanging’ view of the area by renovating the twin Kamla Nehru Park and Pherozeshah Mehta Garden. The plan, to be implemented in two phases, will include the addition of lights on trees in the parks to give the entire area a ‘falling’ feel when viewed from Girgaum Chowpatty at night.
Pherozeshah Mehta Gardens, also known as ‘Hanging Gardens’, are terraced gardens perched on Malabar Hill opposite Kamala Nehru Park and was laid out in 1881 to cover the city’s main water reservoir. It features numerous hedges carved into the shapes of animals. Kamala Nehru Park was constructed on the slope of the area in 1950, and its main draw remains the ‘shoe house’. Both provide scenic views of the sunset over the Arabian Sea.
However, they have not been revamped in many years and some parts are not even in use. The BMC plans to beautify existing attractions at both parks and add more utilities, besides stabilizing the slope around the park and nursery. “Tourists, both Indians and foreigners, visit the area in large numbers and the new look has been planned keeping this in the mind. We will initially beautify the existing structure. While some work will be completed within the next few months, we will try to complete the entire project in two years,” said Sanjay Mukherjee, additional municipal commissioner. Most of the area is managed by the hydraulic engineering department of the BMC.
Civic officials stated the emphasis will be to make the gardens more attractive to children. For instance, signs featuring lines from nursery rhymes will be put up outside the Old Woman’s shoe at Kamala Nehru Park after its revamp. An existing tree house at the park will be rebuilt on the slope of the park, from where visitors can see all of Girgaum Chowpatty. The BMC also proposes to create a parking lot at the corner of the Pherozeshah Mehta Gardens, on a plot currently used by the hydraulic engineering department to store material.
Officials are also considering minor changes, like removing names of sponsors from benches and the like. “If someone sponsors a major part of any particular work, only then can we allow their names to be put up,” said Mukherjee.
In a related development, the BMC has decided to invite tenders to construct a viewing gallery on an area that previously housed Café Naaz. The area is a stone’s throw from Kamala Nehru Park. Civic officials stated the BMC plans to construct a giant viewing gallery on the spot from where tourists can see the entire Marine Drive stretch.