British-era tunnel gets discovered in Mumbai govt-run hospital

Mumbai: Inside the premises of the government-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai, a 132-year-old tunnel structure has been found, PTI reported citing officials' accounts.

The structure is 200 meters long and was found under a building where the Sir Dinshaw Manockjee Petit Hospital for Women and Children operated earlier and later converted to a nursing college.

The tunnel was found when an inspection was conducted of the building to address a water leakage complaint.

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.

Hospital Dean Dr Pallavi Saple said that the Mumbai collector and Maharashtra Archaeology Department were informed since the building is a heritage structure.

The medical superintendent, Rathod, further said that the discovered structure is 4.5 feet high and has several brick pillars and an entrance sealed with a stone wall.

He said that they entered the structure after opening a sealed ventilation duct, three ft-by-three ft in size. There are many such sealed openings on the front and rear sides of the structure. Some former hospital employees told him that another British-era building located behind this building has a similar structure underneath, but the info is unverified, Rathod said.

Rathod explained that the building under which the tunnel was found was designed by architectural executive John Adams and inaugurated on March 15, 1892. The construction cost was ₹ 1,19,351.

Inside the JJ Hospital campus, there are multiple British-era heritage structures.

Dr Saple said, "We are now planning to start a heritage walk through the hospital premises."