Cluster redevelopment of Bhendi bazaar: Chor Bazaar deadlock continues

future has been in uncertainty ever since the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) proposed the cluster redevelopment of Bhendi Bazaar, a complete facelift of the area, including the 150-year-old vintage market.

“If we move to a mall, the charm of the market will be lost. Studies have shown that market for shops on first and second storey in a mall significantly drops,” says Mohammed Salim, secretary of the Mutton Street Dealers’ Association that was formed in 2015 to broker a mutual agreement between Chor Bazaar stores and the SBUT.

Since 2010, however, the deadlock remains with Chor Bazaar shop owners demanding ground floor spaces post-redevelopment.

Following the collapse of the 117-year-old Hussaini Building, there are more pressing concerns – leakages and dilapidated structures that house these shops. In August, days before the Hussaini building crashed, the association had written to the SBUT asking it to repair leakages in 20 buildings, including Mithaiwala and Furniturewala buildings.

Shop owners say until all buildings are vacated, the SBUT should take responsibility of maintaining the structures. “We have written to them several times to repair leakages. Until an agreement is signed, as landlords, they should maintain our buildings,” Salim says adding that they are willing to shift to Colaba’s Causeway, where rent soars to Rs 1,200-2,000 per sqft, if the SBUT provides rent.

The association’s chairman, Haji Usman, owns “Just For You”, a shop in Furniturewala building that the SBUT says must be immediately evacuated. “The SBUT does not have intimation of disapproval for all buildings. Their agreement is not specific as to where we will be relocated. How can we sign it?” says Usman.

Famous for curios and antiques, the Chor Bazaar stretches from S V Patel Marg till Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, and has over 350 shops. About 150 West-facing shops come under the SBUT’s cluster redevelopment project in three phases.

Secretary Salim owns “Suntime”, a shop that sells vintage clocks. “If our shop is shifted, our customers will not come looking for us. The project may hamper our business,” he says.

Adjacent to “Suntime”, is Shahid Mansoori’s “Mini Market” that sells curios. Most of his items are displayed on the roadside to attract customers. In a mall, he says, if relocated to the upper floors, the display will no longer be possible.

While most shopowners have refused to move until their demands are included in the agreement, some have shifted to the opposite side of the street – east-facing shops that are not included in the cluster redevelopment project. Abbas Vagher, who sells curios, moved a month ago, a few meters away from his old shop where he worked for 35 years. “We have put up a notice on our old shop about the new address.

But it impacts our business. I don’t know how long this redevelopment will continue. We signed the agreement because our entire building was vacated and we had no option,” the sexagenarian says.

While some of the buildings have been vacated and residents have moved to Anjeer Wadi, Ghodapdeo, and Chunabatti, the structures still stand along with the shops. Chor Bazaar shop owners fear more building collapses.

On Monday, a meeting is scheduled between the SBUT and Chor Bazaar shop owners to discuss the issues of dilapidated structures and repairs.