Soon, stock market building to open its doors for tourists

The state government had approved the proposal in the board meeting of the MTDC, headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in January

Tourists will be allowed to visit the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for a half-an-hour trip by the next month. The BSE board approved the proposal in its recent meeting and the state government expects the memorandum will be inked in the next few weeks.

The MTDC will facilitate tourists visiting Mumbai with the access to the six designated areas of the high security building in Fort. (HT File Photo)

The state government had approved the proposal in the board meeting of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in January this year. The MTDC will facilitate tourists visiting Mumbai with the access to the six designated areas of the high security building in Fort. The half-an-hour trip will include a short film screened at the auditorium, visit to the exchange floor, souvenir store, observation gallery, etc.

“We expect that tourists will be able to visit the BSE by next month. The online booking will charge Rs 50. We are also planning to offer a welcome drink and a souvenir to tourists,” said Satish Soni, joint managing director of MTDC.

The MTDC will shoulder the responsibility of conducting the tour in a group of 60 people every day. “We have been getting lots of queries about the visits to the share market building which has been designated as high security establishment after it was targeted in the serial bomb blasts in 1993,” said another MTDC official.

The government recently approved a plan to minimise the number of go-aheads needed by the hospitality industry including hotels, tour operators and venues holding concerts. Besides bringing the number of the sanctions to 34 from 70, the state government also decided to register few venues in the city for the pre-approved licences to hold programmes and concerts.