Mumbai: In a first, the Mumbai civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has deployed a three-dimensional hologram at the landmark Girgaum Chowpatty, at the mouth of the famed Marine Drive.
The hologram is part of a larger Rs 1,700-crore Mumbai beautification project that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced in September last year ahead of Mumbai civic polls expected to be held this year.
“The hologram is a first in Mumbai and we started this on a pilot basis. We will see the response of the public and add more content to it,” a BMC official told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity.
The Rs 1,700-crore project also includes beautification of Gateway of India, pedestrian-friendly footpaths, illumination of 13 skywalks connected to railway stations, painting of walls, and glow gardens.
‘Content no constraint’
The BMC official said the cost of this hologram is approximately Rs 4 lakh and for now, it displays flowers, animals, birds, and a heart. The content can, however, be changed as per the occasion, he said.
“The content is not a constraint and there is more scope to put different content such as patriotic themes, or as per the season and festival,” he said.
The hologram has been installed on a viewing deck at Girgaum Chowpatty that was inaugurated in April last year by the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Kartik Pandit, who stays nearby along with his family, had come to see the hologram. “This is unique and I hadn’t seen something like this before so I would advise others also to come here,” he said.
The official told ThePrint that Tilak Udyan, next to Girgaum Chowpatty, is also going to get a facelift. A glow garden and light and sound show has been planned there and the BMC expects it to be inaugurated by March-end.
Replicas of animals, birds, and trees will be on display and its benches would glow. For the light and sound show, a curtain will be put up at Chowpatty. The content will be decided later but a general theme will be used to begin with, the official said.
The BMC is confident of getting the mandatory approvals from the high powered committee of the Girgaum Chowpatty and the Collector for the Tilak Udyan project.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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