Fate of Taraporewala Aquarium hangs in balance

The state government may order the demolition and reconstruction of the aquarium or shift it to the proposed marine research centre at Worli, an official from the fisheries department said

Mumbai: The fate of the Taraporewala Aquarium hangs in the balance as the construction work being undertaken for the Mumbai Coastal Road project may likely have weakened the 70-year-old building located on the Queen’s Necklace on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose road, popularly referred to as Marine Drive.

If the audit reveals that the building is not structurally sound, it may have to be reconstructed. “If the government wants to, it can reconstruct this,” said Gupta, adding that a decision would have to be taken by the state (HT File)

Starting Wednesday, a structural audit will be conducted to ascertain the state in which the building — closed since the start of the pandemic and a load-bearing structure — is. The state government may order the demolition and reconstruction of the aquarium or shift it to the proposed marine research centre at Worli, an official from the fisheries department said.

“The government will have to decide if the aquarium will continue to function there or shift to Worli… and a policy decision is awaited. For now, the aquarium is shut as there is no access road. The building has been weakened and a structural audit has been ordered,” said J.P. Gupta, principal secretary, animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries.

If the audit reveals that the building is not structurally sound, it may have to be reconstructed. “If the government wants to, it can reconstruct this,” said Gupta, adding that a decision would have to be taken by the state cabinet.

The structural audit is expected to be completed in a week following which the report will be submitted to the fisheries department (which owns the land). Based on the report, the government will decide if the structure can be repaired, or if it has to be rebuilt or shifted to Worli.

Inaugurated in 1951 and named after D.B Taraporewala, a philanthropist from the Parsi community, the aquarium has been shut since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ongoing construction has also closed off access to it. One of the most-visited tourist spots in Mumbai, the glass tunnel-shaped aquarium houses lion fish, tang fish, groupers, and stingrays, among a host of other fresh water and marine fish.

Last year, the department of fisheries floated a global tender for the modification in design and maintenance of the aquarium on a public private partnership (PPP) basis. However, officials said it garnered no response.

“There was no response from bidders for the expressions of interest (EOI) to develop the aquarium in the PPP mode. As this is a 70-year-old load-bearing structure, bidders are not interested in investing money for 30 years as they can utilise only the ground floor. Bidders feel that the locomotive density of vehicles using the coastal road will further hamper the strength of the foundation. So, from time to time, strengthening would be required, which is also dangerous,” said Atul Patne, commissioner, department of fisheries.

An official said that since the building was a load-bearing structure, fish tanks cannot be added on the two top floors as it may not be able to take the load of the tanks and the visitors. Tremors caused by construction of the coastal road have affected its structural stability, the official said, on the condition of anonymity.

The dairy development department transferred 10 acres of the Worli dairy land to the urban development department in September 2021 to develop a marine research centre, aquarium and international tourism centre.

Fisheries department officials said a redevelopment through the PPP route could help create a next-generation aquarium by adding more fish tanks, parking space for visitors, 3D and 4D shows on marine and aquatic life, space for competitions, souvenir shops, restaurant, and taxidermy models.

The aquarium was closed in 2013 for a ₹22 crore refurbishment and makeover and re-opened for visitors in March 2015 with added features like more fish tanks and a three-stride long (12-feet) tunnel aquarium at the entrance. However, an inadequate variety of aquatic life meant that the footfall didn’t improve by much. Officials said that procuring new varieties of fish was difficult due to the rules involved and the unorganised nature of the ornamental fish breeding industry.

The 4,369.05 sq meter plot has three buildings—the aquarium, one that houses the office of the commissioner of fisheries and a structure that earlier had a water filtration system and canteen.