Question

Describe the 'land reclamation' process in Bombay during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Answer 1

Land reclamation in Bombay was created by including seven islands joined into one landmass. The earliest project began in 1784. The Bombay governor William Hornby approved the building of the great sea wall which prevented the flooding of the low-lying areas of Bombay.

Land reclamation is a process by which new land is created from the sea. It is done by creating barriers for stopping seawater from submerging a particular land area. The reclaimed land is then dried up and used for human activities. The city of Bombay was formed by reclaiming a large tract of land from the sea and joining the seven islands of Bombay into one. The need for additional commercial space in the mid-19thcentury led to the formulation of several governments and private plans for the reclamation of more land from the sea. In 1864, the Back Bay Reclamation Company won the right of reclaiming the Western foreshore from the tip of Malabar Hill to the end of Colaba. As the population started growing in the early 19thcentury, every bit of the available area was built over and new areas were reclaimed from the sea.