Mumbai: Religious trust to redo Bhendi bazaar

Mumbai: After the Bandra Worli Sea Link, Mumbai is readying itself for another architectural marvel and this one without any government aid. A religious group has set itself the tough task of redeveloping one of the city's most congested areas - Bhendi Bazaar.

Come 2015 and the 7.5 lakh square-feet area - packed with hundreds of old rickety buildings - will be transformed. The Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust, set up by the wealthy Bohra community, has decided to give the bazaar a Rs 1,500 crore make over.

Associate Architect for Project, Kutub Mandviwala says, "Not only will we be demolishing buildings but this is about total infrastructure development. We will be creating better infrastructure and better living conditions."

The Bohras believe that they must repay to the community a portion of their personal wealth. The trust has already undertaken similar projects in Surat, Burhanpur and Galiakot. Their last endeavour was building the Saiffee Hospital in South Bombay.

Trust member, Abdeali Bhanpurawala says, "This is a challenge but we are positive. We are doing the government's job for them."

The makeover plan for Bhendi Bazaar has the approval of a committee comprising Mumbai's civic authorities.

Twenty-teo new buildings are planned, some of them going up to 40 storeys with green spaces, malls, and rainwater harvesting and recycling. Ninety of the 270 buildings in the bazaar have been bought by the trust for redevelopment. The trust also plans to build 350 square feet flats for tenants currently occupying 150-200 square feet rooms.

Eighty per cent of the project will be used for rehabilitation of current residents and 20 per cent will be used for sale purposes to recover construction costs. If this one-of-a-kind project sees its completion it could set a paradigm the rest of the country can follow.

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