In Fort area, another heritage building set for face-lift

At its prime, the Municipal ENT Hospital at Hutatma Chowk housed the headquarters of the prestigious Bombay Improvement Trust. Just as this little-known, stately heritage building seemed set to get lost in all the Gothic architecture in the Fort area, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has initiated the process to restore it in a bid to bring back its architectural splendour.

The only civic ENT hospital in the city, the building categorised as a Grade II B heritage structure was the office of the BIT, which was responsible for improving the living and sanitary conditions in the city.

BMC officials said the civic body had appointed Vastu Vidhan Projects as the conservation architect to restore the structure while retaining it as a hospital. Deputy City Engineer (Planning and Design) C K Watve said that the restoration plan would soon be submitted to the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) and the restoration is expected to be completed by next year.

Principal architect Rahul Chemburkar said that his firm had conducted a preliminary survey at the hospital and had submitted a report to the civic administration on the condition, usage and structural repairs required.

The headquarters of the BIT was housed in this building since 1898. Following the plague epidemic in 1896, the Bombay Municipal Corporation decided to establish the BIT to develop vacant land. BIT developed land to improve the living and sanitary conditions in the city and came up with more than 16,000 small rooms for mill workers to live. The building was converted into the ‘Atma Sing Banke Bihari ENT Municipal hospital’ in 1964.

Chemburkar said that the original structure was not fit to be a hospital. “The development of the structure in the later stages was not holistic. Many structural problems like sewerage leaking can be attributed to haphazard planning. Earlier, there was only one main toilet to which isolated toilets were later attached to help patients,’’ he said.

The first phase of restoration will address this problem by repairing the roof to prevent rain-water leakage. Although the building lacks any peculiar feature, it forms a crucial part of the Fort architecture. “It is in sync and forms a visual alliance if one compares the rest of the architecture in the Fort area. It has all the typical Bombay Gothic structure elements,’’ said Chemburkar.

A photograph of the original structure shows two towers on the western side which were later demolished. From the outside, there is little evidence to show that these towers existed. But some construction marks are visible from the terrace of the hospital. It has not yet been decided whether these two towers will be restored and a decision is expected only if the MHCC makes a recommendation.

Chemburkar pointed out that over the years, some elements of the structure have become dull due to leakages, moss, parasites and additions. “We would like to highlight the features and make efforts so that the structure stands out with other architecture in the Fort,’’ he said.