As though the maximum city didn’t already have enough reasons to entice tourists, a new world-class aquarium has been added to the mix. Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar proposed for this new addition in Mumbai, and here’s all we know about it so far. By Bayar Jain
View this post on Instagram
The annual budget presented by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar listed the proposition of a world-class aquarium in Mumbai, a smidgen of the larger international standard tourism complex planned for the city. This new aquarium is set to come up at Worli in South Mumbai. Late last year, in December, state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerey had asked the Tourism Department to chalk out a plan for the same.
While presenting the budget in the Legislative Assembly, Pawar stated this project would cost up to INR 1,000 crore. He also added that it would be set up in the Worli Dairy Land, a land which previous governments tried selling either to revive the Aarey milk brand or to fund Mumbai metro projects. These efforts, however, were found to be unfeasible and eventually scrapped.
Additionally, an outlay of INR 1,400 crore has been announced for the Ministry of Tourism under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s budget. This move has been made with the hopes of boosting tourism in the state. For this, Pawar said several pilgrimage spots in Maharashtra, like Mahurgad in Nanded district, Pali Vaijanath, Aundha Nagnath, Narsi Namdev in Hingoli district, an ancient Shiva temple in Ambarnath and Hazrat Khwaja Shamna Mira Dargah in Miraj would also be developed. Tourist destinations like Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani are being allotted INR 100 crore for development as well.
Earlier this year, Mumbai also became the first Indian city to be open all the time. January 27 onwards, malls, multiplexes, shops and restaurants were allowed to function all night.
Related: Ditch Japan, Now Head To Mumbai To See Cherry Blossoms In Full Bloom!