Mumbai: 132-year-old British era tunnel discovered at JJ Hospital

Mumbai: While inspecting the water leakage on the premises of government-run JJ Hospital, authorities found a 132-year-old tunnel-like structure built in 1890 under the hospital. 

The 200-metre-long structure was found under a building which originally housed the Sir Dinshaw Manockjee Petit Hospital for Women and Children. It was later converted into a nursing college.

The tunnel came to light during an inspection of the building following a complaint of water leakage, officials said.

The foundation stone of the British-era heritage building was laid by Lord Reay, then Governor of Bombay, on January 27, 1890, said Dr Arun Rathod, Medical Superintendent of the hospital.

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Hospital Dean Dr Pallavi Saple told PTI that they have apprised the Mumbai collector and Maharashtra Archaeology Department about the discovery as the building is a heritage structure.

Dr Rathod, who inspected the structure from the inside, told PTI that it is 4.5 feet high and has several brick pillars. The entrance is sealed with a stone wall, he said.

They entered after opening what looked like a sealed ventilation duct, three ft-by-three ft in size. There are many such sealed openings on the front and the rear side of the structure, he said.

According to some former hospital employees, another British-era building located behind this building has a similar structure underneath, but it was yet to be verified, said Dr Rathod.

Speaking to the news agency ANI, Dr Arun Rathod, Resident Medical Officer said, "We inspected the nursing college building after a complaint of water leakage. PWD engineers and security guards surveyed the building and found a 132-year-old tunnel. The tunnel is closed from one end."

Dr Pallavi Saple, the dean told HT, "It is like a chamber, probably a refuge area. We have informed the archaeological department as it is a heritage structure. We cannot explore it on their own from here on. We feel the chamber leads somewhere," added Saple.

"It is said there is a tunnel beneath another building in the premises which was then a mother and child ward," she said.

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