Mumbai: In what may seal the fate of the iconic Taraporevala Aquarium in its present form, the structural audit commissioned by the state government has revealed that the building has developed structural flaws. The state government will now decide on whether the three buildings in the complex, which also houses the office of the commissioner of fisheries, can be repaired extensively or be torn down or rebuilt in situ.
Inaugurated in 1951 and named after Parsi philanthropist DB Taraporevala, the aquarium, which is otherwise one of the most-visited tourist spots in Mumbai, has been shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At present, access to the premises has been hampered by the construction of the coastal road being undertaken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The tremors caused by the construction of the coastal road also affected its structural stability.
“The audit report states that it will be appropriate if the structure is torn down and rebuilt. The report has been submitted to the state government. It is for the state government to decide if it wants to repair the buildings or demolish them and construct better structures,” said Atul Patne, commissioner of fisheries, Government of Maharashtra.
The 4,369.05 sq metre plot has three buildings — the aquarium, the office of the commissioner of fisheries and a structure that earlier had a water filtration system and canteen.
Officials from the fisheries development department said that redeveloping the complex would create a multistorey structure with a next-generation aquarium consisting of more fish tanks, parking space, 3D and 4D shows on marine and aquatic life, space for competitions, souvenir shops, restaurant, and for the display of taxidermy models.
Earlier, senior state government officials had said that the government could take a policy decision on if the aquarium could function there if it should be shifted to the proposed marine research centre and world-class aquarium at Worli. The dairy development department has last year transferred 10-acre land of the Worli dairy to the urban development department for developing the marine research centre, aquarium, and international tourism centre.
The department of fisheries floated a global tender last year for the modification of the design and maintenance of the aquarium on a public private partnership (PPP) basis. However, officials said there was a lack of response from bidders as they were not interested in investing in a 70-year-old load-bearing structure for the next 30 years.
The prospective developers felt that they could utilize only the ground floor– fish tanks cannot be added on the two higher floors as the structure may not be able to take the load of the tanks and the visitors. The locomotive density of vehicles using the coastal road will further hamper the strength of the foundation.
The aquarium was closed in 2013 for a ₹22 crore makeover and was re-opened for visitors in March 2015 with more fish tanks and a three-stride long (12-feet) tunnel aquarium at the entrance. However, despite this, it lacked a satisfactory visitor experience due to the lack of adequate variety of aquatic life on display. Officials said that procuring new varieties of fish was difficult due to the rules involved and the unorganised nature of the ornamental fish breeding industry.
The Taraporevala Aquarium saw daily footfalls between 2,000 and 3,000 depending on the season.