Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market, popularly known as Crawford market, continues to be a favourite. (Express Photo)Standing in the heart of South Mumbai for 150 years, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market, popularly known as Crawford market, continues to be a favourite among city’s shoppers, especially those looking for bulk purchases.
Located opposite to the Mumbai Police Headquarters and a short distance from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, it is one of the oldest markets in the city – established in 1869 – and was named after Arthur Crawford, the first municipal commissioner of the city. Rechristened Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market later, it is a grade-I heritage structure and attracts a lot of national and international tourists.
“It caters to a mix of locals and tourists and is a great place to pick up things at reasonable rates,” Mukesh Gupta, a regular customer, said. The market is known for selling fruits, dry fruits, handicrafts, imported food items and chocolates, and even boasts of century-old shops.
Kayyum Siddiqui, 59, owner of a handicraft store which was started by his father in 1930, said: “I remember coming to the market with my father and helping him in the shop when I was 10 years old. Every day I see customers, who I have been meeting for almost half a century now. My usual customer base consists of retailers, who buy the special baskets in bulk.”
Several shopkeepers said that the mushrooming of shops in the area have hit the traditional businesses. “The market remains the same, but the number of shops has increased in the past few years which has punctured our revenue and increased the competition by a greater margin,” Lala P Yadav, 63, owner of a dry fruits shop, said.
While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has undertaken restoration works in phases – restoring a total of 130 shops in the first phase last year – work on the remaining 265 shops that commenced in December 2017, is on, officials from the civic body’s market department said.
