MUMBAI, June 8: The Gateway of India is finally getting a facelift. The Taj Mahal Hotel has undertaken a project to beautify its surroundings at an estimated expenditure of Rs 1.5 crore.

The project will cover the entire one lakh square feet area around this tourist spot and will extend from the plaza area up to the Radio Club. The money is to be spent on cleaning, re-laying the flooring and planting of around 700 trees. Said Ashok Kulkarni, director of architecture of the hotel, ``There was profuse leakage from the monument dome. So we have given it a protective invisible coat to prevent salt from the sea air from permeating the stone and corroding it.''

He added that the BMC is contributing to the drive by providing water, a security guard and electricity free of charge, and has spent around Rs 12 lakh till date.

``We have requested the BMC to relocate the hawkers elsewhere and not to issue licences for new hawkers as this create unwanted congestion here,'' he stated.

A proper compound wall and gate has been built to prevent people from sleeping on the floor under the Gateway's dome, and stones lying around the area have been removed.

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has also contributed to the beautification drive by providing light fixtures to illuminate the monument at night. But visitors, particularly foreigners, are unhappy with the existing arrangements at the Gateway. ``I cannot sit here in peace for even 10 minutes to enjoy the sea breeze as beggars will come to pester me for money. Even if I give them something, they will demand more. And if I don't pay I will be followed,'' said a foreign tourist seated at the Gateway.Commenting on the overcrowding of Gateway on weekends and holidays, an architect working for a private company said, ``The Gateway was built in 1911. The transformation of Mumbai from a small fortified trading settlement to a sprawling commercial metropolis has promoted a relatively denser pattern of building. Now it's difficult to avail of a large ground here to accommodate visitors.''

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.