Marine Drive to get its golden glow back

Marine Drive's famous golden glow will be back as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started replacement of White LED bulbs with yellow ones.

Shiv Sena corporator Avkash Jadhav was fighting for yellow sodium vapour bulbs for the past one year. But the BMC has changed it to yellow LED lights.

Jadhav had taken up the issue vociferously when the civic body failed to install yellow lights on Marine Drive's 100th anniversary. Last week, Jadhav had written to BMC chief Ajoy Mehta asking him to step down if the lights were not changed back to golden soon.

The old sodium vapour lamps were replaced by white LED lights in January last year. However, the move had run into trouble after Aaditya Thackeray raised objection over replacement of street lights and claimed that the white lights had "stolen the charm of the Queen's Necklace".

The Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) had given a go-ahead to the civic administration to replace the sodium vapour bulbs with white LED.

Later, the Bombay High Court, in August, had directed the civic administration to replace the white LED with yellow LED bulbs. Jadhav had complained to the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) over the new lighting scheme.

The MHCC, in February 2015, had written to the BMC, asking it to change the lighting scheme at Marine Drive to either golden or yellow. With BMC taking no action, the matter went to court and the HC suggested bringing back sodium vapour lamps.