Bengaluru: Plans are afoot to revive Bengaluru Santhe, a traditional arts and crafts market located on either side of Swami Vivekananda Road metro station. It opened on the lines of New Delhi’s famous Dilli Haat in 2013 but failed to garner similar patronage.
It boasts 63 shopping spaces and open areas for exhibitions and demonstrations. Many handicraft entrepreneurs folded up their businesses after the pandemic. When Metrolife visited recently, it wore a deserted look. Only four shops were open, of which, three were primarily operating as storehouses. There were no customers in sight.
Entrepreneurs who have rented the space before say Bengaluru Santhe has immense potential but it has suffered due to poor walk-ins, lack of ample promotion, and restricted timings.
Under the new plan, it would serve as a marketplace for rural and urban women entrepreneurs and self-help groups to display and sell their products. On August 7, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and National Livelihood Mission (NLM) signed an agreement for a one-year-project to rent out stalls to such artisans.
How is this initiative different from the previous model, where small businesses could approach BMRCL and rent the space for Rs 100 to Rs 400 a day? A BMRCL official said it will benefit artisans across the state because of NLM’s reach in every district. “Spotting handicraft enterprises was not BMRCL’s expertise,” he explained.
The official revealed that existing businesses have been asked to approach NLM to discuss how they can continue using the space. An officer from the Mission informed Metrolife that they will announce their plans and the launch date in a month.
Bharathi, owner of Diya Decoratives, contacted NLM to learn about the criteria she would have to meet to continue. She had set up shop three years ago. “The list was long. While I could have tried, how could I be sure the space will deliver this time? So I have bought a space for my shop nearby,” she shared.
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While people running the last batch of businesses at Bengaluru Santhe are uncertain about their future, they are delighted the space is getting another chance. It is modelled after a typical village from Karnataka. Shops resemble huts, with sloping roofs, windows, and fences. The space has a stream (now dried), trees and sitting areas.
An entrepreneur said, “The setting was beautiful, the space was accessible by metro and the rent was cheap but the execution failed. I hope in the second innings, they bring tourist buses here. Adding stalls of regional cuisine may be a good idea. Make the space look vibrant — it looks grey and dull.”
Another entrepreneur, who shut shop in June, has more suggestions: keep it open beyond 6 pm, provide drinking water and more toilets for shopkeepers, restart the canteen, and have a power back-up.
To renovate the space, the BMRCL official said they have carried out some
waterproofing work, installed metal doors at shops for safety, and replaced dilapidated tiles with Mangalore tiles. “We will reopen the canteen. To promote the Santhe, we will make announcements inside the metro and also put out standees,” he added.