Bandra – A Lost Port
Before railways and roadways became common, waterways were
the means of commuting. Places that were situated on waterways often
prospered. Bandra is an example of this.
Bandra was (and is) situated on the south-west extremity of
the island of Salsette; in fact Bandra itself was called an
island. It lay north of the creek or rather waterway that led to the
Bombay harbour. Before this waterway was rendered useless due to the
building of the Mahim and Sion causeways, silting and reclamation, boats used
to pass between Mahim and proceeded via Sion to the Bombay
harbour. Therefore there were many fortifications on both sides of
this waterway : forts at Worli, Mahim and Sion on the South and two at Bandra
and one at Kurla on the north of this waterway.
The Jesuit, Fr. Monclaro, writing in the 1570s says that
Bandra "is a harbour and a good stopping place for the ships coming from the
south or from the north and intending to move forward".
There are many references about Bandra as a
port. For example, among the 'conditions' laid down on 14th January,
1665, when Bombay was being ceded to the English: "That the port of Bandra
in the island of Salsette nor any other islands shall be impeded and all
vessels from that port or ports, and others coming to them, shall be allowed to
pass and re-pass very frankly…"
In Vol. XIV, pg. 15 of the Gazetteer of the Bombay
Presidency (1882) Bandra is described as a port and we can obtain the annual value
of the imports and exports of Bandra from the years 1874-1881 from Vol. XIII,
pt.2, pgs. 354 & 355.
No comments:
Post a Comment