Civic body to restore memorial damaged by mob

Apart from the damage to private and public property, Saturday’s violence at Azad Maidan also resulted in the vandalism of a historic memorial outside the ground, built by the civic body in memory of two freedom fighters who were brutally killed by the British.

Apart from the damage to private and public property, Saturday’s violence at Azad Maidan also resulted in the vandalism of a historic memorial outside the ground, built by the civic body in memory of two freedom fighters who were brutally killed by the British.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it would take up restoration work immediately.

The memorial was built in 2009, to honour freedom fighters Mangal Gadiya and Sayyed Hussain, who were killed during the 1857 War of Independence.

A rifle made of fibre and a glass box surrounding it – both part of the memorial – were broken by the mob.

Mayor Sunil Prabhu, who visited the site on Monday, said: “Considering the significance of the memorial, it was a highly condemnable and atrocious act. Our utmost priority will be to complete its restoration before August 15.”

However, officials claimed it would take at least a week to complete repair work. The granite slabs in the park around the memorial, which were also damaged, will be repaired in the next two or three days, they said.

“The work will be undertaken by the architect who built the memorial. We will have to look for an appropriate supplier for the fibre-made rifle, which will be replaced,” said Mohan Adtani, additional municipal commissioner. The restoration work will cost the civic body an estimated Rs. 2.5 lakh.

In October 1857, Gadiya and Hussain, British Army soldiers who revolted against colonial rule, were tied to the mouth of a cannon that was then fired, killing the two.

The memorial comprises a cannon, a stone wall depicting the gruesome incident, a small park, and the rifle.