Biswa Khudra Bazar likely in 2 yrs at Birbhum

Kolkata: The state government has set a target of two years to develop the integrated production and promotion hub for small and micro enterprises – Biswa Khudra Bazar – in Birbhum, before going for the third phase of the project on a total land of 50 acres.

As per the plan, there will be three separate units in the state-of-the-art Biswa Khudra Bazar, including one where there will be production of goods, while the second one will be meant for promotion and sales of the same products.

According to the sources in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles department, the West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation is developing it, which is one of the dream projects of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Entrepreneurs' Hub, where the production of goods will take place, will come up on 5 acres of land and the work to build the same has been started.

The second part of the project, that is the Business Hub from where the goods will be promoted and sold, will be spread across an area of around 25 acres. The tender to develop the Business Hub has also been floated and the work will be started soon with completion of the due processes.

According to an official, Biswa Khudra Bazar near Santiniketan in Birbhum is the only one of its kind in the state. There are no such markets where units of production and promotion are present side by side.

The existing ones like Biswa Bangla Haat, Urban Haat and Rural Haat, do not have production units. Various handicraft goods, local textile products, etc. are being sold in these markets.

But with setting up of the Biswa Khudra Bazar, both production and sales units will come under one premise. It will help in reduction of transportation costs and people can buy products at cheaper prices.

"It will automatically ensure an increase in sales and entrepreneurs can make a good profit, despite selling the same product at a cheaper price," the official said, adding that round the year, people visit different places in Birbhum, mainly Santiniketan which will soon turn into a favourite shopping area for tourists, who always want to take home some sort of locally-made goods.

The third unit of the integrated market will be spread across the remaining 20 acres. The third part of the entire project is developing a market, from where visitors can directly purchase goods from local artisans.

If everything goes as planned, they can pick up techniques of making the world-famous handicraft products of the district and its surrounding places.