Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 29: One of Mumbai’s oldest philanthropic landmarks—the Bomanjee Hormarjee Wadia Fountain and Clock Tower in Fort—is set to wrap up a fresh round of preventive restoration, almost a decade after an earlier effort rescued it from near collapse.

Built in 1880 and installed in 1882, the structure is believed to be Mumbai’s only monument combining a clock tower with a public drinking trough, originally created for residents and travellers before the adoption of piped water. The fountain commemorates philanthropist Bomonjee Hormarjee Wadia, and notably predates the construction of CSMT (formerly Victoria Terminus).

The Kala Ghoda Association (KGA), which adopted the monument under an MoU with the BMC, is now executing a second phase of conservation—not rescue, but long-term preservation.

“When we restored it in 2016, the goal was to save it,” said KGA chairperson Brinda Miller. “This phase is about helping it age gracefully. Mumbai’s climate is unforgiving to exposed stone, which makes periodic maintenance essential.”

The project is funded by the Rustomjee Group, whose CMD Boman Irani said the restoration embodies Mumbai’s legacy of community-driven philanthropy. “Heritage survives only through consistent care. Supporting this conservation effort feels personal for us,” he noted.

Conservation architect Vikas Dilawari, who also led the 2016 restoration, recalled the monument’s alarming deterioration at the time: a banyan tree rooted deep into its upper sections, clogged drainage, dislodged carvings, and surrounding encroachments. The structure had even been declared unsafe by the BMC.

The team carried out an intense structural intervention—adding an internal RCC retaining wall, carefully restoring carved elements, reviving the buried water troughs, and reinstating the flame finial. That restoration earned the project a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award in 2017.

While the inner chamber remains closed for security reasons, both KGA and Dilawari said plans are in motion to introduce guided heritage walks after this phase concludes. The clock mechanism continues to receive yearly servicing, keeping one of its original functions alive.

With the latest work expected to finish in the coming days, Dilawari said the project aims to set a model for safeguarding smaller but culturally vital heritage structures. “Preventive care every few years is the only way to keep these gems from slipping back into neglect.”