Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde Opens Bungalow Premises for Morning Walkers
The mayor of Mumbai is the person who helps run the city, and her name is Ritu Tawde.
On India's 80th Independence Day, she did something special.
She opened the big house where she lives, called the Mayor's Bungalow, so people can walk there.
Every morning from 6 to 9 o'clock, people can stroll in the garden and along the paths.
The bungalow is surrounded by lots of trees, so it is a green and peaceful place.
The mayor wanted to help older people who had trouble finding nice places to walk.
Before this, people used to walk inside the Byculla zoo, but that stopped.
The zoo had to follow new rules that keep animals calm and undisturbed.
People who live nearby are happy about the mayor's idea.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde opened the Mayor's Bungalow premises in Byculla for citizens' morning walks on the occasion of the 80th Independence Day.
The heritage-listed, tree-surrounded premises will be open every morning from 6 am to 9 am.
Tawde hoisted the national flag before personally opening the main entrance gate of the bungalow for local residents and senior citizens.
The initiative follows the BMC's discontinuation last month of the decades-old zoo walking facility, citing animal welfare guidelines from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
Local residents and senior citizens have welcomed the move, which gives them a calm, green space for daily walks.
- Who
- Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, along with local residents and senior citizens of Byculla who will use the premises.
- What
- Opened the Mayor's Bungalow premises in Byculla to citizens for morning walks.
- When
- On Saturday, August 15, 2026, the nation's 80th Independence Day.
- Where
- Mayor's Bungalow, near the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo in Byculla, Mumbai.
- Why
- To give citizens, especially senior citizens, a calm and green space for daily walks after the BMC discontinued the zoo walking facility in line with Central Zoo Authority animal welfare guidelines.
- Mayor
- Ritu Tawde (in office since February 2026)
- Occasion
- 80th Independence Day (August 15, 2026)
- Location
- Mayor's Bungalow, Byculla, Mumbai
- Daily Timings
- 6 am to 9 am
- Target Visitors
- Local residents and senior citizens
- Previous Zoo Walking Facility
- Discontinued by BMC in July 2026; previously Rs 150 per month, 6 am to 8 am
- Reason for Zoo Closure
- CZA 2023 guidelines requiring a disturbance-free period for animals before visitors arrive
- Additional Complaints at Zoo
- Some walkers feeding stray dogs and plucking flowers inside the zoo premises
