The city's iconic Khadi Bhandar on D N Road is set to be reimagined as a cultural hub and experiential centre showcasing sustainable products and hand-made art and craft. The three-year-long project, a joint initiative by Mumbai Village Industries Association (MVIA), which runs the store, and the Mumbai chapter of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), is expected to cost Rs 30 crores. The project was announced on October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, whose association with Swadeshi or locally made products, and khadi is a legacy that the seven-decade-old institution continues to promote.
Mumbai's iconic on DN Road | FPJ/ Manoj Ramakrishnan Mumbai's iconic on DN Road | FPJ/ Manoj Ramakrishnan Mumbai's iconic on DN Road | FPJ/ Manoj Ramakrishnan The space, formerly a colonial-era emporium called Whiteway and Laidlaw where Mumbai's British residents shopped for products from back home, was converted into a centre for swadeshi products in 1953. The store occupies the ground and mezzanine floor of the 120-year-old Jeevan Udyog, formerly the Metropolitan Insurance Building. Constructed in the classical architectural style, the building is listed as a Grade II structure under Mumbai's urban heritage list.
The construction of the METRO under D N Road has compromised the structure's integrity and critical intervention is needed to restore the building, said architects. Kirtida Unwalla, the architect who will do the conservation work, said the building is p.