₹146-crore project to revamp iconic Mumbadevi temple takes off

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) aims to transform the modest the 9,000-sq mt precinct on the lines of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi

Mumbai: One of Mumbai’s most atmospheric downtown neighbourhoods, the Mumbadevi temple precinct, will finally get its promised makeover. The precinct is the site of a temple that houses Goddess Mumbadevi, believed to be the presiding deity of the city.

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and guardian minister of the island city Deepak Kesarkar have given their approval for the project. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

In a major community integrated development initiative, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) aims to transform the modest the 9,000-sq mt precinct on the lines of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi. The foundation stone of the project will be laid by chief minister Eknath Shinde shortly, while tenders have already been floated.

The project, estimated to cost ₹146 crore, will see the over 100-year-old Mumbadevi temple being restored and made more accessible to devotees. Also, the area around it will be beautified to include gardens, water bodies, statues and murals. To evoke the ambience of a bygone era, natural materials such as basalt will be used in the revamp.

A modest shrine in the heart of the old city, the Mumbadevi temple has over time seen shops and other commercial establishments as well as residential buildings creep right up to its doorstep. Hawkers selling ritual items and garlands operate choc-a-bloc outside the temple, while devotees wanting to offer prayers to Goddess Mumbadevi wait outside the shrine in serpentine queues, in an extremely congested space. During festivals such as Navratri, crowd management is a challenge.

Now, all this will undergo a dramatic change. A civic official said the primary objective of the revamp plan is to organise the unstructured areas around the temple to facilitate better crowd management. The temple precinct will be redesigned to accommodate up to 7,000 people at a time. Amenities for devotees will be provided including benches, drinking water, toilets, first-said and parking facilities.

“We plan to widen the temple entrance from Mumbadevi towards the Kalbadevi side by 30 feet. Additionally, we will create a garden with a mandal vaatika, a designated area for rituals such as havans and a pond. We propose to showcase the Devi’s idol outside, allowing devotees to have a walkthrough experience,” according to the civic official. The historic Pydhonie Talav, a water body with immense historic significance that no longer exists, will be reconstructed for devotees to wash their feet before entering the temple grounds.

“Unfortunately, the temple has been engulfed by the bustling bazaar area,” said the official. “Its dome is barely visible, and the ambience of the temple has been compromised by encroachments from all sides. However, all the shops and licenced hawkers will be rehabilitated. They will get prime spaces along the routes frequented by devotees to ensure that they retain their clientele.”

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and guardian minister of the island city Deepak Kesarkar have given their approval for the project. Several meetings have been held between the state government and BMC to finalise the details.

BMC has appointed project management consultant, M/S Structwel, and conducted a traffic simulation study. “We also studied the topography of the area to create an organised plan. The entire Mumbadevi precinct area will be developed in phases,” said the civic official.