The nearly 5m tall pair of Malad stone pillars on concrete pedestals, referred to as Parsi Gate, that stand on Bombay’s Marine Drive are proposed to be temporarily relocated while the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) constructs a northbound tunnel as part of the eight-lane, 29 km Coastal Road in that area, noted The Times of India (ToI) dated May 21, 2019. The Road is expected to decongest traffic between Marine Lines in South Bombay and Kandivali in the western suburbs. The Gate is used to access a narrow stretch of beach and is popular with Parsis for offering prayers during Avan mah. There is no documentation, however, linking the monument to the Parsi community.
Above (l): "Parsi gate;" (r): popular venue in Avan mah Photo: Adil Jussawalla
The BMC had earlier taken clearance from the Heritage Committee (HC) for using a one-km stretch on the iconic sea face for the project. It was later realized that the Gate stood on the route of the proposed project. The Corporation has now sought the HC’s permission to "shift the structure temporarily so that work on the project can proceed,” stated ToI. "We will restore the Gate, which is on BMC property, after the work. Since it’s related with religious sentiments, we have sought help from experts before we touch it for coastal road work,” an unnamed civic official was quoted in the news report.
Quoting an unidentified expert who spoke to the newspaper, ToI stated that "it remains to be seen how the BMC plans to restore the structure without shifting its location, as once the tunnel is constructed on the planned alignment, access to the sea from there would be a challenge.”