Shivaji memorial: World's 'tallest' statue seems a tall order for city.

The proposed Shivaji memorial, though mid-sea, is predicted to lead to 'unmanageable' traffic snarls in the tourist-thronged stretch from Regal Cinema to the Gateway of India, one of the boarding points for tourists, according to a commissioned Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). An additional elevated road or a new sea link from NCPA to the Gateway of India has been suggested to the state's public works department to handle tourist load, stated the EIA report recently submitted to the state government. The report was prepared for the state's public works department by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

The 190-m high statue, the height of a 55-storey building, is touted to be the world’s tallest statue. The state estimates that the proposed marine aquarium, museum, amphitheatres and laser shows, besides the statue, will attract 10,000 visitors each day. The year-long EIA study for the Rs. 1,900-crore project has also found that the project will increase congestion on roads, road-side vendors, air pollution and solid waste generation.

'Socioeconomic and metropolitan cultural environment will be impacted severely by the project. Local transport will be drastically affected with congestion and increase in road-side vendors. The stretch from Regal to the Gateway of India is not wide enough to take the load. The road width in the area is not sufficient to accommodate 1,000 vehicles per day during 10 am to 8 pm,' stated the EIA report.

Installation of the memorial is further likely to contribute to climate change, states the EIA report. “Vehicular emissions, mainly volatile organic compounds and aldehydes, will increase two fold with the influx of 10,000 visitors per day,' it highlighted.

Suggesting multi-level parking at Gateway, the EIA asks authorities to explore other boarding points. While the project's impact on marine life, currents and coastal erosion was found to be 'marginal' by NIO, NEERI has found that the project will ‘adversely impact’ air pollution and burden the civic body's already stretched basic infrastructure. Influx of 10,000 visitors would force the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to arrange an additional 10,89,600 litres of water per day for consumption to support the tourist footfall.

Moreover, the visitors would produce 1.12 tonnes of waste per day at the memorial site and the civic body wil have to arrange for collection and disposal of additional waste near Gateway of India, NEERI officials pointed out.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS