Mumbai Diary

The might of the ancient India that ruled for almost 300 years starting at first century BC, is evident from the 102 coins on display at the exhibition.
RBI Monetary Museum
RBI Monetary Museum

Understanding history through coins
The RBI Monetary Museum, that chronicles the amazing journey of Indian money from coins to the currency notes, is currently hosting an exhibition on coins from the Satavahana dynasty. The might of the ancient India that ruled for almost 300 years starting at first century BC, is evident from the 102 coins on display at the exhibition. Made primarily in silver, lead and copper, the coins depict animal motifs on one side and a cross with four circles on each end -representing four roads leading to Ujjain, which was a big trading centre at the time. The exhibition will be open for next two months, except on Mondays.

Metro project gathers steam
The Mumbai Metro project, which comes with a tagline of ‘Upgrading Mumbai, is slowly catching pace. The progress of the ambitious 38 km long underground Metro project that connects the Southern tip of the city with the airport and the export promotion zone is encouraging.

All the 17 tunnel boring machines required for the project have started operating earlier this week even as one-third of tunnelling has already been completed. The first tunnel boring machine was lowered last year in September. Though the project is scheduled to be completed in March 2021, the fact that its pace has caught up is a relief for the people of Mumbai, who face traffic snarls due to the ongoing work on the project.
‘Bug’ hotel in Navi Mumbai!
Some environmentalists are trying to make life easy for the most neglected creatures on earth — insects. Bugs, like other living beings, do need space to rest, sleep, feed and breed. But, cities just don’t have it. Even a structure made out of trash can shelter variety of insects in winter.

The concept of such insect houses or bug hotels, which is popular amongst farmers, was brought to Mumbai by Ladybird Environmental Consulting After success of a butterfly garden, they developed two bug hostels at Urban Haat in Navi Mumbai recently. Hope the bug catches up!

Connecting past with future
The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) that inaugurated its first domestic cruise terminal recently has tried to connect the past with the future. The Ferry Wharf, or ‘the Bhaucha Dhakka’, was originally built by Lakshman Hari Chandarjee Ajinkya in 1841 to serve the passenger boats coming to Mumbai from Konkan area. While converting the ferry wharf into a cruise terminal, the MbPT preserved old canons and cast-iron carriageways. Even the old stone watch tower was thrown open for the public. The plan is to develop the whole 11 km eastern stretch of Mumbai into a grand Marina and Miami-like waterfront.

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The New Indian Express
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