The restoration and beautification work will cost the civic body around Rs 20 lakh. The BMC’s garden’s department recently sent a proposal to the BMC’s heritage conservation engineer to restore both 164-year-old canons on a platform.
After heritage milestones, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will restore and beautify historic cannons from the British era lying inside Ghatkopar’s Lions Children Park.
The BMC recently approved plans to restore the two identical canons that have been lying at the park for several decades. The restoration and beautification work will cost the civic body around Rs 20 lakh. The BMC’s garden’s department recently sent a proposal to the BMC’s heritage conservation engineer to restore both 164-year-old canons on a platform.
BMC officials said the two cannons were installed by the East India Company and are dated to have been manufactured in 1856. The British had installed canons in many places to protect the coastal city of Mumbai.
Cannons have been found in the city and neighbouring coastal districts during excavation for various projects in the city. Historians believe that cannons were dumped into the sea after they become obsolete.
At least eight cannons can be found at the Sewri fort. In 2007, during a road work near the Gateway of India, BMC had excavated, a six-foot-long rusted cannon.
In neighbouring Thane, British-era cannons were discovered in 2018. Believed to have been installed in the 18th century for the defense of the fort, near Thane creek, the 11 that have been uncovered will be cleaned and mounted on platforms to protect them.
The Lions Children’s Park, where the two cannons are paved, has been open to the public since 1971. Developed on an area of 55,843 square feet, the park has greenery as well as two canons from the East India Company period. Both the canons have a length of 3.10 metres, an inner circumference of 0.64 meters and an outer circumference of 1.17 meters.
Both the cannons have the inscription ‘NCPC’ in Roman script on one side.
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