In a city full of iconic locations, Kala Ghoda stands out as an art neighbourhood with places like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay, Jehangir Art Gallery, National gallery of Modern Art, Institute of Contemporary Art and Eliyahoo Synagogue. The locality, which has turned into a tourist spot with a wide variety of aesthetic cafes, restaurants and eateries, will soon undergo a change to enhance its beauty and attract more tourists. After the Kala Ghoda Association, which looks after the annual Kala Ghoda Festival, proposed a pedestrian-only policy for some internal roads in the vicinity, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken up the project to beautify Kala Ghoda and make it vehicle free from August 31.
Initially, the BMC is planning to implement the ‘no-vehicle’ policy only on the weekend evenings. The BMC plans to implement the policy on internal roads in the area — Forbes Street, Saibaba Street, Rope Walk Street and B. Bharucha Road — which will be transformed with cobbled pathways, wall paintings and street artefacts.
The streets will turn ‘pedestrian-only’ from the last Saturday of August from 7 pm to 12 am and beautification work will start in October. “The idea is to create a hangout spot for people which can give them an experience of some foreign countries,” said a BMC official from the A ward. “With new pavements, paintings and lights, we are planning to designate spaces with benches where people can relax and tables wher.