Store owners dig in their heels as Mumbai's iconic Chor Bazaar set to face redevelopment

Mumbai: The hustle bustle that has characterised Chor Bazaar flea market in south Mumbai for the last 150 years may soon come to an end as Bhendi Bazaar, the area in which it is located, is set to be redeveloped.

Chor Bazaar one of the oldest flea markets in the city – located off Mohammad Ali Road – and is set to vanish with a first-of-its-kind cluster redevelopment scheme set to relocate many of the 250 shops that constitute it.  Referred to ‘shor bazaar’ at one time, the market has so far stood out as a tourist attraction thanks to its inexpensive goods, kitsch and if you’re really lucky, even a genuine relic, which may have emerged from a junkyard, but the buyer can claim was stolen.

However, the move isn’t going to be a smooth one. The Mutton Street Chor Bazaar shop owners’ association has refused to move into the proposed high rise building saying that it will kill the essence of the iconic market. The association has demanded they should be given shops on the same street with same area that they presently occupy.

“We are not opposing the project. Our only concern is that the trust should show us the blue-print to know where they are going to relocate us. We also want the shops on the same street with same area. We do not even want to change the directions of our shops. We are reluctant to shift ourselves in mall-like complex where there is no guarantee of business," Mohammad Salim Khan, who owns a 40-year-old antique clock shop and is secretary of the association.

Explaining their opposition, he said,“While walking on street, people see the relics and other rare items and then buy them. Do you think that it will happen in a mall? The mall culture is totally different. If we sell these Chor Bazaar items, people will laugh at us.”

The move to redevelop the market has gathered speed after the city’s civic body granted a crucial approval for the Rs 4,000 Bhendi Bazaar cluster development project which is being undertaken by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT). The project, spread over 16.5 acres aims to redevelop 3,200 homes and 1,250 businesses in the 250 existing buildings.

Khan said that the shopkeepers opposed to the project were also upset about the fact trust undertaking the redevelopment hadn’t met them since 2010.

“It seems that they are ignoring the commercial shops. The trust has not shown us the original architectural design of the proposed development but are still seeking our consent. There is a trust deficit. Unless and until the blueprint is not been shown to us, we are not going to give us our approvals,” Khan said.

A spokesperson of the SBUT refused to comment on the issue.

Shaukat Mansoori, who owns a shop in the market and is treasurer of the shopkeepers’ association said there are around 140 members backing them presently.

“We want to beautify the area and want to resolve the parking issue as well, but do not want to move to any mall-like structure. It will kill the essence of the market,” Mansoori said.

He said that a meeting of all the affected shopkeepers is to be held on 1 June when they will deliberate over the various issues faced by them and expect to place it before local political and community leaders, who are also expected to attend.

It’s not just the store owners who are upset, even those who use the market aren’t very pleased about the new proposal. Ram Bedre, a marketing executive who lives in Colaba, had recently gone to the market buy the shoes and watch and said he got a good deal.

“If they are moving to a mall, there will be taxes and other charges that will increase the cost of the items. So, we will not able to buy the items at reasonable rates any more. I think the entire Chor Bazaar concept will be lost in the transition. Shifting to good locations is the good idea but it does not fit in with the Chor Bazaar concept,” Bedre, who visits the  market occasionally, said.

According to Pankaj Joshi, executive director of Urban Design Research Institute, Chor Bazaar essentially evolved from a flea market to an antique market over several decades.

“It evolved from selling used goods ranging from toothbrushes and umbrellas to antiques. It’s a substantial transformation. These are part of natural markets which are evolved in city over years. It can not be easily replicated in other places in city,” Joshi, who is also a heritage expert, said.

He said that the fear of the shopkeepers was justified as they might not get the same opportunities in any other location.

“It will affect their businesses. If they are not assured of the businesses, then they will naturally oppose it. The natural markets are part of informal process and pertains to the idea of livelihood,” he said.