The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has floated a fresh tender for Phase Two of its long-delayed Textile Museum project at India United Mills in Kala Chowki. The upcoming phase includes developing parking areas, modern public restrooms, and a security cabin within the 44,000-square-metre premises earmarked as a recreation-cum-museum zone.

First conceptualised in 2009, the museum honours the legacy of Mumbai’s textile mills and working-class culture. Despite formal approval in 2019 and land transfer from the National Textile Corporation under the Integrated Development Scheme, progress was delayed due to the pandemic and shifting civic priorities.

Phase One saw completion of essential amenities, such as a souvenir store, retail shops, an amphitheatre, murals, a cafeteria, ticketing facilities, and a musical fountain. Phase Two will build on this with supporting infrastructure and a structural audit to assess restoration needs.

The overall project cost is pegged at around Rs two bn , while the newly tendered works under Phase Two are estimated at Rs twenty Mn, with an eight-month execution window. The museum will eventually include a library, exhibition space, and public plaza, with daily musical fountain shows for a nominal entry fee.

Source: Free Press Journal