Civic body digs up the past, sets out to preserve British-era milestones

Vishwas Mote, Assistant Commissioner of BMC's F/South Ward, has stumbled upon a Birtish-era milestone marked with the Roman numeral `V', while undertaking an aggressive demolition drive on Friday on SS Rao Road near KEM Hospital in Parel. The city has at least 15 to 16 of these milestones up to Mahim on the northern side, and up to Sion on the eastern side of the Island City.

A civic official said that these milestones are three or four feet tall basalt stones, which mark the distance in miles from St Thomas Cathedral in Fort, and were installed between 1816 and 1837.

The Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) and the Heritage Review Committee has stressed the need to conserve these milestones for future generations. The civic body is trying to clear encroachments near heritage grade-I milestones, and have started restoring them.

"The milestones are living pages of the city and should be respected. They tell you how the city was planned. It is heartening to know that the civic body is planning to conserve them, but it is equally important that they are prominently visible to the public," said conservation architect Vikas Dilawari.

Umesh Nagarkar, Deputy Municipal Architect (Heritage), said the BMC is working on a restoration plan.