The work of the “Freedom Trail” project by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has reached the final leg.
According to senior civic officials, the project is slated to be completed by January 2025. The budget of the project is estimated as INR 16 crore.
This initiative involves revamp the 2-km pathway between August Kranti maidan and Girgaum Chowpatty (Swarajya Bhoomi), that contains several landmarks integral to the Independence movement.
The significant stretch includes Laburnum Road, home to the Mani Bhavan where Gandhi resided, and Tejpal Road, culminating at Girgaum Chowpatty, which was renamed Swarajya Bhoomi in 2015 to honor Lokmanya Gangadhar Tilak, whose last rites were performed there.
The pathway will highlight several landmarks crucial to India’s independence movement, including the modest hall on Tejpal Road where the Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian Hume in 1885, and the August Kranti Maidan, where Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India movement.
Further, to mark the trail, a red lakha stone line will be laid from August Kranti Maidan to Swarajya Bhoomi, with the project’s name and key landmarks highlighted.
According to BMC officials, 80 per cent of the pedestrianisation work is complete.
The remaining stretch between Wilson College and Swarajya Bhoomi is expected to be finished by January 2025.
After the monsoon, officials will resume work on the final stretch between the college and Swarajya Bhoomi. The path will be laid with basalt stones to maintain a heritage feel. The guiding tiles will be installed to make the pathway accessible to disabled individuals.
Initially, the project planned to use QR codes to highlight landmarks, but this has been replaced by the D Ward’s ‘Legacy Plaque’ project, which will install QR code plaques at 100 culturally and historically significant locations in the ward.
It is pertinent to note that the BMC has already completed the revamping of August Kranti Maidan, which was inaugurated last August.
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