Expect Gateway to sport a brand new look soon

MUMBAI: The Gateway of India, the Grade-I heritage structure on the southern tip of the metropolis which is one of the most-visited tourist spots here, is awaiting renovation of its surroundings.

Authorities are aiming at clearing its surroundings and making them more user-friendly, less congested and visually more elegant.

The stone and concrete areas of the Gateway itself will be left intact, but the Shivaji Gardens just below and its precincts are to be beautified, pedestrian movements made easier and motor traffic regulated with a no-parking zone.

Standing at the city’s entrance from the sea, this 26-metre high archway completed in 1924, was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary.

Visible from the skies and from a great distance in the Arabian sea, the Gateway’s foundation stone was laid in 1911 prior to the Delhi Durbar held then, and 83 years later it is now the “durbar” of the multitudes that visit it.

The Gateway is now flanked by Taj Mahal Hotel and a beachway that ends at another historic site — the Radio Club.

It is said the roads leading up to the structure — which at that time cost a whopping Rs 21 lakh — were never completed for lack of funds.

This time round, too, it was the roads leading to the structure which caused a controversy leading to several delays in the renovation plans.