An ultra-modern haat for the City

With the inauguration of the 3rd Delhi Haat at Janakpuri, the city gets another landmark and West Delhi its first ever cultural hub.

Dilli Haat, Janakpuri which is spread over a sprawling area of 9.80 acres and developed at a cost of Rs 120 crore was inaugurated at a colourful ceremony recently by Member of Parliament, Parvesh Sahib Singh, MLA Jagdish Mukhi and Rajni Mamtani, councillor were present the occasion with their presence. Rinku Dhugga, secretary (Tourism), Government of Delhi, Dr Puneet Kumar Goel, MD & CEO and Ravi Dadhich, general manager DTTDC were also present among other dignitaries.

Speaking on the occasion, Parvesh Sahib Singh said that the new venue will be showcasing the country’s craft and cultural traditions, and will be an open air, shopper’s paradise and a one-stop destination for art, craft, and music and food lovers. To which Jagdish Mukhi, MLA, added that Janakpuri, Dilli Haat is one of the finest complex in West Delhi and will be known as a cultural hub of the city shortly.

Apart from 100 stalls for arts and crafts, 74 open platform shops, 46 air conditioned shops, 14 food stalls dotting the expanse of the haat to cater to foodies’ taste buds with flavours from across the country the Dilli Haat also has 15 food stalls serving cuisines from around the world, The exclusive features of this haat include an air conditioned auditorium which has a capacity of 800 people.

While the 20-year-old Dilli Haat at INA Market, is a roaring success, the one at Pitampura, Delhi failed to replicate the success of its predecessor. Hence, it remains to be seen whether the opening of yet another Dilli Haat in west Delhi with some modern, world class and exclusive features to differentiate it from its precedes, will draw people, cultural artistes and small entrepreneurs. The organisers believe that features like the ultra-modern auditorium and 50 per cent of air-conditioned space will definitely result in making it the cultural hub for Delhi.

Metrolife spoke to the current stall owners who complained about the steep prices for hiring a stall. The management, however, reasons out the rates with its responsibility of maintaining the landmass. They believe that when such a huge infrastructure is fully operational, people will definitely be drawn to visit the place, shop for ethnic folk items, check out the cultural events and savour the different regional, international cuisines on offer. A spokesperson of the Dilli Haat, said, the current artisans are the local shop owners from Delhi itself as the stalls have been given at no cost to them till August 1. However, once the auditorium is inaugurated, artisans from all over India will be invited. Residents of the area will have the advantage of purchasing original and finer quality of regional products and handicrafts.

Plans are afoot to invite cultural an folk performances from organisations such as Sahitya Kala Academy, Punjabi Academy and other cultural academies. The spoksperson also mentioned that Punjabi Academy is more interested in the area as it is surrounded by Punjabi families and hence they have a ready available audience.In order to lure visitors and invite more people, the management is planning to organise fests and melas, with Rakhi and Teej Mela beginning from July 27 topping the list. Entry for children below 12 is free and for adults it is kept at a bare minimum of Rs 10. 

And the best thing is that this Dilli Haat is within easy reach from Tilak Nagar and Uttam Nagar East Metro stations.