Theatre lovers of Mumbai who were disappointed when the Rang Bhavan shut down have reason to cheer. Work on an open-air theatre, the civic-run Sahitya Ratna, Anna Bhau Sathe Natya Griha in Jijamata Udyan at Byculla, will begin soon.
The project was delayed due to several objections raised by various committees like the heritage committee and the building proposal department. But now, the departments have given the green signal by issuing no objection certificates (NOC).
Dhananjay Sadashiv Pisal, NCP's group leader in the BMC, said, "The work was delayed due to paucity of funds from 2005 to 2012. BMC had decided to spend approximately Rs 14.47 crore, out of which 50 per cent funding was to be provided by the state government. There were too many terms and conditions laid out by the state, which were not acceptable to the BMC. Keeping all these factors in consideration, civic commissioner Sitaram Kunte has decided to build an auditorium from BMC's funds. The civic body has decided to spend Rs 19.80 crore on this project."
The tender for the project will be floated soon, said Pisal. "The work should begin this fiscal. Earlier, the theatre had an audience capacity of 450, which would be increased to 950. It will be a one of its kind auditorium equipped with ultramodern acoustic sound facilities of international standards."
The need for an open-air theatre within Mumbai city cropped up after the state-run Rang Bhavan was closed down after a Supreme Court verdict. "There was a demand from every quarter for a quality open-air theatre, so I pursued the matter. This will give many unknown artists from not just Maharashtra but also others parts of the country to showcase their hidden talent," said Pisal.
Earlier, an open-air theatre did exist at the same venue, but was closed down around twenty years back as the animals of the Byculla zoo were being disturbed by the noise. Asked about the possibility of the noise disturbing the animals again, Pisal said that a boundary wall would prevent that.
"If everything goes as per plans, the work will commence in a month or two," said a senior civic official on condition of anonymity.
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