The 154-year-old Carnac bridge, one of the first bridges constructed in the island city, was being dismantled by 500 workers on a November night three years ago when a team of railway and civic officials found six basalt stones among the debris gathered at the demolition site.
Officials were drawn to the six stones because they were inscribed with inscriptions that were mostly in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi. The year 1858 marked the start of the bridge’s construction, while the year 1868 marked the completion of the project.
Along with the bridge’s name etched in four different languages on the other four stones was an “anchor,” which officials claim represents “good luck and prosperity” brought about by marine trade. According to civic officials, the stones were originally situated on the eastern and western sections of the bridge behind a pillar. Only during the demolition drive did the officials learn about it, though.
Following their discovery, the stone blocks were taken to the Central Railways Heritage Gully (lane), which is situated behind the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on P’D Mello Road, for preservation. There, they have been held for four years.
In order to honour the significance of the Carnac bridge to the city of Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has begun to prepare for the return of these stones and their preservation at the newly built bridge, which is scheduled to reopen on June 10.
The deputy chief engineer of the BMC’s bridges department also wrote to Central Railways on April 17 to request that the stones on the recently built bridge be refixed. One of the first east-west bridges to be constructed on the island city of Mumbai was the Carnac Bridge, which was constructed in 1868. This is evidence of the city’s financial boom and its quick rise to prominence as one of South Asia’s financial hubs.
After a structural examination determined that the bridge was unsuitable for everyday use and required reconstruction, the civic and railway authorities jointly demolished it in 2022. The massive process of demolishing the historic Carnac Bridge took about eighteen hours. Early in 2023, work on the new bridge got underway. The work is currently almost finished.
Source: The Indian Express
