MVA allies visit BMC headquarters to launch heritage walk of the building

MVA allies shared the stage with the CM indicating that the alliance has opened up new opportunities for all three parties involved. This is also the first time that Ajit Pawar and Balasaheb Thorat stepped into the civic headquarters.

With just a year to go for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, top leaders of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) including chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray, deputy CM Ajit Pawar, revenue minister and Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat visited the civic headquarters in Fort on Thursday evening to inaugurate the guided heritage walk of the building. This project was conceptualised last year by state tourism department headed by Aaditya Thackeray, who attended the event alongside minister of state for tourism Aditi Tatkare and Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy CM Ajit Pawar with ministers Balasaheb Thorat, Aaditya Thackeray and Bhai Jagtap at the inauguration of a heritage walk at BMC headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

‘Aamchi Mumbai’ was the tune of the event as MVA allies shared the stage with the CM indicating that the alliance has opened up new opportunities for all three parties involved. This is also the first time that Ajit Pawar and Balasaheb Thorat stepped into the civic headquarters, with Thorat taking a jibe at the CM saying, “You did not give us a chance to come here (BMC headquarters).”

Pawar said, “I have been in the Vidhan Bhavan since 1990 and Balasaheb Thorat has been here since 1985, but we did not get a chance to visit the BMC headquarters. I got this chance now because of Aaditya Thackeray.”

CM Thackeray, who was sitting at the mayor’s chair for the event, said he did not imagine he would sit in the Mumbai mayor’s chair as the chief minister of the state. He said, “This has been possible due to my new allies. Like you (Pawar and Thorat) got a chance to visit the civic general body hall due to the new alliance, similarly I got a chance to go there (Mantralaya).”

After Thursday’s inauguration, the BMC headquarters is now open to tourists who can book guided tours of the building online. BMC has tied up with the independent online portal — Bookmyshow.com — for the bookings.

Speaking at the inauguration, Aaditya said, “Very soon, we will also start unguided tours for tourists, with bar codes placed at various locations. Tourists can scan this code for more information of the building.” He also announced that the tourism department is planning to arrange similar barcodes for roads and junctions across the city, with information on the importance of the personality after whom the road has been named and their contribution to history. The tourism department will start similar tours at other locations in the city, such as Wankhede stadium and Gateway of India, according to Aaditya.

Alluding to the MVA alliance’s support to BMC’s endeavours, Pawar said, “I want to tell Aaditya that BMC is fortunately with the Shiv Sena, and now the chief minister of the state is also from the Sena. In this backdrop, if all of us take it upon ourselves, we can clean up Mumbai. You will have full support from us. Together, BMC, state and tourism department can implement many projects successfully.”

BOX

Night Life:

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the ‘night life’ concept, the brainchild of state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray, which was started in February last year is the need of the hour for a city like Mumbai as it appeals to the youth. He said, “We need to give impetus to night life, but safety is of utmost importance and will not be compromised.”

The state government introduced its night life policy on January 27, under which malls, and later food trucks, were allowed to remain open round the clock. This, however, has hit a road block due to the lockdown.