CR to judge heritage value of stn shed

Artefacts Could Be Sent To Rail Museum And Space Used As Barracks For
RPSF Jawans

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The Central Railway authorities are yet to evaluate the
heritage worth of an old cargo shed near the newly-commissioned P
D'Mello Rd entrance to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Artefacts that merit preservation will be despatched to the
railway museum in Pune so that the space can be put to use, perhaps
to construct barracks for the Railway Protection Special Force
(RPSF).
Long defunct, the cargo line near Carnac Bunder once connected
Bombay port to the northwest of undivided India. In fact, it belonged
to Western Railway, which dealt with traffic on that route. CR, which
had its cargo shed at Wadi Bunder, catered to traffic from the north-
east, east and south.
"It is common knowledge that the shed on the east of CST has
existed for decades,'' said Shriniwas Mudgerikar, chief public
relations officer, CR. "We are yet to assess the heritage value of
the artefacts at the location.''
Once objects of beauty, the tall stone walls of the shed are now
home to an assortment of jawans from the RPSF and Bangla-speaking
migrants who claim they are from `Kolkata in Bihar'.
Worn cobblestone platforms stand in stark contrast to the modern
paver blocks and bright new ticket counters near the second entrance
to CST at Carnac Bunder.
Jawans from the special protection force can be seen cooking over
a fire that is fuelled by an old wooden sleeper, while the opposite
platform serves as a recreation room complete with cricket on live
television.
Sub-inspector M Balasubramaniam said a proposal was under
consideration to convert the shed into barracks for RPSF jawans. A
preliminary assessment was done recently when the authorities arrived
to take measurements of the structure.
Non-committal on the cargo shed's future, railway officials said
they were aware of the need to safeguard the city's cultural
heritage.
The move to retain and restore the site must also fit in with CR's
plans to turn CST into a world-class railway station. It has
identified 22 stations that will earn a complete makeover, and CST
occupies pride of place on that list.