By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, Jan 21 (IANS) Mumbai's first citizen, Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, on Monday shifted to an unusual neighbourhood - the Veermata Jijabai Bhosle Udyan and Zoo complex, paving the way for the long-planned memorial to Shiv Sena's founder-patriarch Bal Thackeray at the official Arabian Sea-facing Mayor's Bungalow at Shivaji Park.
A spokesperson for BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Vijay Khabale, said that the traditional puja ceremonies were performed by the Mayor and his family members before formally shifting into the new premises this afternoon.
"This will be a temporary official accommodation for the Mayor. The BMC is already constructing another official bungalow at Shivaji Park, close to the existing bungalow. It is expected to be ready within three years," Khabale told IANS.
The oldest in Maharashtra and among the oldest in the country, the VJBU Zoo was opened in 1862 and now houses 385 varieties of wild birds, animals and reptiles, including the most exotic addition two years ago, a tiny colony of the Humboldt Penguins living in a special icy enclosure.
To ensure the Mayor is not disturbed by the sounds of the wild creatures in the immediate vicinity, the civic body has erected special sound barriers around the bungalow, besides giving extra parking facilities for the hordes of visitors who meet him daily.
Special security measures, including a separate gate, have been set up to ensure that the 4,000-plus daily visitors to the zoo don't loiter into the 2,300 sq m Mayor Bungalow.
In November 2017, after the Maharashtra government and BMC decided to hand over the 2,400 sq m Shivaji Park Mayor's Bungalow to the "Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial Public Trust", Mahadeshwar agreed to shift to the existing bungalow inside the zoo, which was till then occupied by Additional Municipal Commissioner A.L. Jarhad.
With the Mayor's exit from the Shivaji Park premises, the stage is now set for launching the grand memorial to the late Thackeray on Wednesday, marking his 93rd birth anniversary.
The firebrand orator, cartoonist and politician was revered as 'Hindu Hridaysamrat' till his demise on November 17, 2012 in Mumbai. Since then, there has been a huge clamour for a suitable grand memorial in his honour.
On Wednesday, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, his son and Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray and others will perform a special bhoomi pooja at the former Mayor residence.
A day after his death, the late Thackeray's public funeral was performed at Shivaji Park near the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary Maratha warrior king.
The 28-acre Shivaji Park is located opposite the former mayoral residence and close to the Veer Savarkar Memorial and the B. R. Ambedkar Memorial here.
Though the erstwhile Congress-NCP government declined permission for any construction activities on Shivaji Park, one of the handful of 'lungs' of Mumbai and the cradle of Indian cricket, in 2013, the Sena-controlled BMC built a 800 sq feet garden at the spot of the cremation.
This memorial garden has several trees and flowering plants even as hectic efforts continued to raise a Thackeray memorial in space-starved Mumbai.
Shivaji Park is also famed for other events, including the Shiv Sena's annual Dassehra Rally started by the late Thackeray, parades and exhibitions, and political rallies.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)
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