Urban Haat project still far from reality

Inaugurated 3 years ago, the all day long street food project hasn’t moved an inch

A restored look of the Urban Haat in Amritsar. Photo: Sunil Kumar

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, NOVEMBER 16

A long lost demand of people involved in the tourism industry, locals and tourists to enjoy 24-hours street food remains up in air. The Urban Haat project, which was to promise other features as well, hasn’t moved an inch from inauguration in last many years.

The Amritsar Development Authority (ADA) had outsourced the Urban Haat to Food Library, a Bathinda-based firm, involved in catering and hospitality. The ADA had announced its opening in August last year. However, the plan did not fructify. Constructed with an aim to boost the city’s tourism, the replica of the famous Lahore Food Street has been crying for attention of the authorities, as the project is non-functional even after being inaugurated three years ago.

The ADA had sublet it to the firm in November 2018. The company was to pay Rs81 lakh annually to the ADA and has rights to accommodate food brands. The company was provided ample of time to make arrangements and had even set the date for collection of rent from July 11, 2019.

It is also worth mentioning here that then BJP-SAD government in the state had restored and revamped the abandoned 124-year-old colonial-era building of Victoria Jubilee Hospital in consultation with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage to attract tourists to taste city’s varied cuisine in 2015.

The project was inaugurated by then Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, in May 2016 amidst much fanfare by organising the ‘Amritsar Heritage Festival’ in which people from 20 different states had taken part.

Amarjit Singh, marketing head of the Food Library, said, “We are all set to make the Urban Haat functional. The repair, paint and beautification work on the heritage building took too long and required heavy investment. Though, the company has not earned a penny from the project but was investing from its own resources to turn it into a world class premises.”

Over 20 national and international food brands are likely to open their outlets and nine of these confirmed their presence. He informed that the Urban Haat will be opened for limited hours this month and a grand opening is on cards next month.