Kolkata, June 7 (KNN) The West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDC) today said it intends to create an international standard marketing hub for micro and small enterprises in the handloom sector.
Named as 'Biswa Khudra Bazar’ (BKB), the hub will come up at historic Santiniketan and the focus will be on community-led handicraft and handloom presentation.
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.
The main aim of the project is to create an international marketing hub for Micro & Small Enterprises (called Biswa Khudra Bazar in Bengali).
“The idea is to turn the 100 acres of available land into a community destination with a variety of use and establish a network of ‘public spaces’ keeping the model of ‘centre of excellence’ in mind that can become catalyst for further economic opportunity in the region, complementing the nearby attractions in the historic university town,” WBSIDC said in a notification.
In this context, the WBSIDC has invited bids from companies to develop an architectural model and master plan for Biswa Khudra Bazar.
The components that are to be incorporated into the Master plan are - Commercial and Leisure Resort; Education; and Heritage and Culture.
“The department is also in possession of a secondary small site, about 15 Km away from the site allocated for BKB, and where one storey buildings are constructed called “Urban Haat”.
“The project can set a good example globally of developing community-led models of rural art handcraft blended with culture and protection of local eco system. These should be dovetailed with tourism in a planned manner so that they do not eventually turn into commercial ventures destroying the local handcraft and the way of living,” WBSIDC said.
