Ready for a dinner date at one of Mumbai's oldest docks?

This really is an idea whose time has come. For years you may have seen the iconic Sassoon Docks as a backdrop in Bollywood films and part of history textbooks and now, it may be part of your selfies album, too. That’s right! The place is set to get beautified into a modern cultural spot with restaurants, a museum and more.
What’s in store?
Built way back in 1875 on reclaimed land, the docks are used as a fish loading and trading centre and sees a crowd of harried buyers and fish sellers.But things are set to change with the new makeover plan that will see a renovation of the old plus new additions. Affirms Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust, “There is a complete revamp set to take place here, which will be in phases. We have planned a fishing village, which will be open for tourism. We are also going to provide facilities for an air-conditioned fish market where people get a hands-on idea of the various activities. In addition, there will also be a ship museum and restaurants. In fact, we had invited tenders and have already got an offer for a restaurant in the area outside. This will be an indoor facility. And this is just five per cent of the whole plan.”
Locals welcome it
Niti Verma, a resident of Colaba says it’s time such a revamp took place. “I pass by the docks en route to the nearby park for my daily jog and have been bearing the stench of fish for so long. I’m glad something will be done now,” she says. Rahul Narwekar, Colaba resident and member of the legislative council, who is said to have also mooted the plan to the Port Trust, adds, “The place has a strong stench as there was no proper waste management so far; this revamp should take care of that. Fishing docks attract tourists from all over the world, for example, you see sea food restaurants with fresh catch as well as theme-based excursions taking place there. We welcome the idea and I had discussed the plan with the MPT Chairman. We wanted to look into sprucing up and tourism of Sassoon Dock. Around `52 crore have been allotted for its revamp, but that may not be enough as this is prime real estate where so much more can be done. Why just one or two restaurants? We need to have various outlets there.”
‘Should not be at the cost of disturbing cultural fabric’
While city-based heritage enthusiast Priya Bose welcomes the revamp, she says it should be done carefully. “I had always hoped for this to happen as the coastal front of Mumbai has not been utilised the way it should be. There is so much potential, take for instance the Versova village and Worli Fishing village. If you go to European countries, you see so many activities happening there — with artists and cafes. It’s great to have these planned for Sassoon Dock, but I hope that the authorities are sensitive and ensure that its heritage aspect is not affected. We can’t let commerce ruin the DNA of the area. The idea may be to get more people there, but it should be done without damaging Sassoon Dock’s cultural fabric. Last year, there was a rock concert at the Worli fort near the fishing village and you had youngsters infringing on the settlements and taking pictures of the homes, etc. Remember, these pockets are in a time warp. Their inhabitants are not the general city public, but are shy, clannish and peace-loving. So, redesigning should be done carefully — you can’t superimpose a western model on a traditional model. Yes, I would love to have a fresh home-cooked koli meal and engage with the locals on a visit there, but not at the cost of hampering their lives,”
she says.
On the agenda

Slice of history
Built in 1875 on reclaimed land at Colaba in south Mumbai, Sassoon Dock is one of the oldest docks in Mumbai.