The Muvattupuzha town, located on the eastern outskirts of Ernakulam, will soon be the place to connect urban clients with the best of rural India.
People visiting the State will soon have an added attraction to look forward to in the form of an `Urban Haat’ here on the lines of Dilli Haat. Works on the much- awaited project, a first in Kerala, are in the final stages and slated for completion by December this year. The Haat, envisaged as a permanent exhibition centre for handicrafts, food and cultural activities, is being set up at an estimated cost of around Rs. 2 crore. The facility, coming up on 70 cents comprises 49 permanent exhibition stalls, a 300-seat open- air auditorium, cultural theatre, lodging facility for artisans and food courts.
“Works on the building infrastructure have already been complete and the electrification works are on. We plan to host art works in the interior that will reflect the Kerala tradition, craftsmanship and culture’’, said U.R.Babu, chairman, Muvattupuzha municipality.
The restaurants at the Haat will give an opportunity to the tourists to savour authentic Kerala cuisine while craftsmen, from the country and abroad, will provide a wide view of richness and diversity of handicrafts and artefacts at the centre, he added.
The project was mooted as part of Government of India’s policy to set up permanent marketing infrastructure at prime locations to eliminate middlemen. The Centre sanctioned a fund of Rs.1 crore for the project in 2008-2009 but the project got technical sanction of the State government after a four-year-long wait. The project had hit road block owing to disinterest of contractors, forcing a revision of the detailed project report. The local body also plans to acquire a property adjacent to the Urban Haat and construct a luxury auditorium as an extension to the Haat.
