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Fashion Street to be revamped into well-organised tourist attraction
Mumbai's Fashion Street, a popular bargain shopping hub, is set to be transformed into a well-organised hawkers' plaza with modular units and uniformed vendors. The revamp will also include a food court, toilets, and a garden to attract more tourists. The aim is to give the market an iconic look and make it more appealing to visitors. The project will be carried out by consultant Nasir Bakir, who plans to create patches with pay-and-use toilets and organise the market with a colour scheme and better merchandising.
Strap: With colour codes for shops, uniformed vendors, food court, toilets and garden, city’s bargain shopping hub to adopt modular style of European market
Mumbai: Mumbai’s popular bargain shopping hub on M G Road, Fashion Street, is poised for transformation as the civic body plans to revamp it into a well-organised hawkers’ plaza.
This popular fashion destination in south Mumbai with 384 licensed vendors is a big draw among the youngsters who rummage through piles of clothes, shoes and fashion accessories, which can be bought at an affordable price.
The shops will be converted into organised modular units and collapsible units for squatting stalls (erected boxes with wares displayed on a table).
Vendors will wear uniforms and the shops will have a colour scheme to advertise their merchandise. Toilets, a food court and a garden will also be built to attract more tourists.
“Tourists who come for heritage walks, visit Gateway of India and stay in Taj hotel should also visit Fashion Street. If it is designed as per international standards the number of tourists visiting that place will also be high,” said a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The street will also be made women and children friendly, and a place to hang out for the youth.
“We will work on the approach roads from Azad Maidan, with well-paved footpaths, wider roads and painted walls,” said another senior civic official.
“There are khau gallis where skills will be developed for self-help groups so that they can sell good quality food and there will be a food court on the Fashion Street,” added the official.
Nasir Bakir, Mould Group of Companies, has been appointed as the consultant for the revamp of Fashion Street.
“Fashion Street is an iconic market in India known world over but it’s been run haphazardly. While the pavement is quite wide and can handle large footfalls, unfortunately, licensed shop owners have encroached the entire street by putting up bamboo. The footpath, which is more than 20feet wide, appears narrow,” said Bakir.
“We have proposed to revamp the street on the lines of modular style of European market where the shops are more functional, operational and its overall look is better. The modular units will have more storage and at the same time will not encroach onto the street,” added Bakir.
Bakir said that at every 30 metres, they will create patches in such a way that there are pay-and-use toilets, which can be used by the public and shop owners.
“It will not be a typical pay-and-use system but an automated one where people will deposit money in a slot and the door opens,” said Bakir.
Bakir added there will be entry and exit points created, and also sufficient landscaping and plantation to make it an approachable street. There will be pink toilet with a women’s restroom, locker room, feeding room, changing room and a garden where women with kids can indulge in recreational activities.
The overall idea is to organise the entire market and give it an iconic look. “There will be more product display. An organised merchandising in the shops and each shop will have their own branding,” said Bakir.
There are two types of modules- shops which are larger units and others are squatting stalls.
“Squatting stalls are just erected boxes and they are given a space on footpaths where they bring their own table to display their products. But we will organise that and give them a standardised collapsible unit for which they will be levied a charge by the BMC.
“We will use vibrant colours for the entire street. We will have a colour scheme to advertise the merchandising depending on the product display.
“We are also creating better merchandising so that vendors know the potential of their wares. The vendors will have uniforms and there will be sections for men’s, women’s clothes and shoes,” said Bakir.
