Restoration work of iconic Shivaji Market to begin in May

PUNE The reconstruction and renovation work for Pune Cantonment Board (PCB)’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Market pending for the past one year on account of severe funds shortage at the board is likely to begin from the third week of May

PUNE The reconstruction and renovation work for Pune Cantonment Board (PCB)’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Market pending for the past one year on account of severe funds shortage at the board is likely to begin from the third week of May.

Proposed exterior view of Shivaji Market (ILLUSTRATION BY NASADEEYA ARCHITECTURE AND CONSERVATION)

To be constructed at a cost of ₹2.29 crore, the project has received ₹1.19 crores from the state government, ₹25 lakh from the PCB, ₹50 lakh from cantonment MLA Sunil Kamble and ₹23 lakh from Shivaji Market Stallholders Association.

A massive fire broke out at the market on the night of March 15 last year which destroyed at least 25 shops in the fish and chicken section of the market.

Conservation expert and project consultant Archana Deshmukh Kulkarni of Nasadeeya Architecture and Conservation, said, “Tenders will be out in a week. It will be a complete restoration project of the market which is a grade I heritage structure. Post restoration it will become a model to be emulated for the rest of the markets in the country.”

Atul Chavan, chief engineer, Public Works Department (PWD), said, “The project is being renovated under the guidance of heritage experts. The funds for the projects have come and the work is likely to begin soon once the tender is released.”

The Shivaji Market, a Grade I heritage structure, has been a bustling marketplace since its construction in 1885 by British army officer Lt Gen John Ross as per the design by Gen Cecil D’Urban La Touche and WM Ducat.

According to historical records, the structure was one of the highlights of Pune city during the pre-independence era and served as a platform to feed servants and the quarters of the then “white population” in the Pune cantonment area. Conservationists and heritage lovers have written about its Victorian Gothic style with high ceilings.