Mumbai: Mumbai’s popular bargain shopping hub on M G Road, Fashion Street, is poised for transformation along the lines of Orchard Road, Singapore’s prominent fashion district
Mumbai: Mumbai’s popular bargain shopping hub on M G Road, Fashion Street, is poised for transformation along the lines of Orchard Road, Singapore’s prominent fashion district.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to revamp the city’s low cost shopping street into a well-organised hawkers’ plaza. The popular fashion destination in south Mumbai is a hook for youngsters who rummage through piles of clothes, shoes and fashion accessories for some of the choicest picks. The 384 licenced hawkers carrying out businesses on this street will be given uniformly designed kiosks, so that ample walking space can be created on the footpath for shoppers. The civic body also plans to fix signages and fancy streetlights along the stretch, beautifying the central median.
“We will first ensure that all roads and footpaths approaching Fashion Street are beautified and concretised. With regulating vendor space, we will be able to free up space for pedestrians as well,” said a senior civic official. The apparel on display will be distinctly classified along gender lines, with a separate section for children and a zone for footwear. Once its new avatar is revealed pedestrians and shopkeepers will not have to jostle for space, as they do now.
The senior civic official added that BMC will permit ramp shows. “Small brands can organise fashion shows, which will be an upgrade for Fashion Street. The civic body will also train the vendors with the correct etiquette to interface with customers. We have had initial meetings with the vendors,” she said. In the first stage, the civic body will carry out a survey, followed by a design model and then present the same to higher authorities for final approval.
“Fashion Street is in need of a revamp to attract overseas tourists and other die-hard shopaholics. The project will take three months to take off,” she added.
Ibrahim Mohammed, member of Stall Owners’ Association at Fashion Street, said, “While we have had talks with BMC about the revamp, we would prefer it if they convert the space into an organised market where other licenced vendors who sell on pavement are also included into this systematic arrangement.”
