No takers for Bund Garden Bridge Art Plaza

PUNE: After receiving a poor response from artists and citizens alike to the art and cultural plaza on the old Bund Garden bridge, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s plans to hand over operations and maintenance of the plaza to a private operator also failed to take off. Though it has been a few months since the plan was mooted; no private party has yet shown an interest in taking over operations of the Bund Garden Art Plaza.
Harshada Patil, the head of PMC’s heritage cell, said the plaza has been properly utilized for only three-four events since its inauguration in May 2016.“The response was very poor. Therefore, we wanted to hand over the maintenance and operations of the art plaza to a private player on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. However, there have been no takers for that either,” she said.
PMC has already spent Rs1.5 crore on the redevelopment of the bridge, to maintain the heritage structure and use it as a platform to promote local arts and crafts. The works carried out included reduction of load, development of flooring pattern, installation of grills, development of entry points at both ends of the bridge, installation of benches, installation of fixtures for display of art and craft and other beautification works.
According to Sunil Mohite, the acting deputy engineer of the heritage cell, the municipal body is now planning to undertake more structural works on the bridge to attract artists.
“Only four events have been organized at the plaza, which is currently only being used by citizens for morning walks. We have noticed that the absence of a shed is deterring artists from displaying their works. We plan on instaling sheds at both ends of the bridge and a portion in the middle as well. Artists can display their works at these places. The proposal has been forwarded to the heritage committee since the bridge is a heritage structure. We will announce a tender for the same once we get an approval from the committee,” he said.
Mohite added other works, based on suggestions received from people, will also be undertaken at the plaza.