India Street, set up in late 1840s, is ready to embrace a facelift involve keeping all the shop houses and the street itself under a shelter.

India Street Pedestrian Mall Committee chairman Datuk Wee Hong Seng said the proposed facelift had been agreed to by 95% of the shop owners and was waiting for Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib’s approval.
The facelift would benefit shoppers and the traders who were the long-term stakeholders.
Keeping the street under a shelter was important to ensure that shopping could go on uninterrupted whether in rain or shine.

Currently, livelihood of traders is linked to the weather pattern. Each time it rains, their income for that day will be below normal as it is a deterrent for tourists and local customers.

The proposed facelift was deemed necessary as more locals and tourists would be coming to the area soon after the completion of Plaza Merdeka shopping mall by November 2012.

The proposed Plaza Merdeka Hotel would follow suit in 2013 while the renovation and upgrading works of the Open Air Market could commence soon.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib had approved the shelter project and announced Friday April 27, 2012 an allocation of RM1mil for the Kuching City North Commission to begin work.

Efforts to transform India Street to a pedestrian shopping mall were realized in 1992, making the mall the first of its kind in Malaysia.

India Street has a long and unique historical heritage and enjoys the benefit of being a special tourist attraction for both local and foreign visitors.

India Street Pedestrian Mall will have a modern shopping-arcade outlook, complete with covered rooftops.

Work to upgrade India Street, is scheduled to start early 2013

India Street has a history of 165 years, including the last 20 years as a pedestrian mall.
Today the street is a shopping haven for vibrant tourists and locals alike.


There are very few places in Kuching City that can boast a long and continuous history of being a famous shopping spot.
India Street has benefited so much due to the willingness of their traders to embrace change.


Businesses must not only rely on locals but should cater for tourists as well as the state had been able to attract some 3.8 million visitors annually.

In 2011, tourist arrivals jumped 16 per cent compared to the year 2010. In the first quarter of this year, it had already surpassed the 2011 figure by 21 per cent.



Areas stretching from Hilton Hotel to Ban Hock Road and the old state mosque would be gradually upgraded to attract more foreigners and those from the higher income group.




Plaza Merdeka Mall was scheduled to be opened on Nov 11, 2012, followed by a hotel following year.
Upgrading work on the nearby Open Air Market would start soon.

The idea of covered rooftops, which was mooted in 2010, came about from Bugis Junction in Singapore and Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur.

“Following an overwhelming support of over 95 per cent shop owners on Dec 8, 2010, DBKU and the Ministry of Tourism were briefed on this proposal in June 2011. There was all round positive feedback and support for this proposal.
 

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/26/sarawak/11174706&sec=sarawak

http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/04/26/cm-gives-india-street-proposal-a-big-push/

India Street Pedestrian Mall

India Street Pedestrian Mall is an interesting place to visit in Kuching.

The India Street derives its name from the fact that it has always been a street occupied by the Indian Shops. Most of the Indians are from the southern and northern India. At first, it was called as the Kling Street in the 1850’s, but the Third White Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke changed the name to India Street in 1928.

In 1992, the street was closed to vehicular traffic and converted into a pedestrian mall.

INDIAN MOSQUE LANE

A small passageway (locally known as “Lorong Sempit”) that connects India Street Pedestrian Mall and Gambier Road.  A popular short-cut for shoppers who patronized the area. Built originally as the access to the Indian Mosque located between the Mall and Gambier Road. The doors and steps which marked the beginning of the passageway from the Mall side have been restored in their original state since early seventies.

The Indian Mosque

Inconspicuously sandwiched between India Street Mall and Gambir Street,  the mosque covered an area of 16,004 square feet.

The mosque was built in 1837 by Indian Muslims from southern India. The originally walls and roof was made of nipah palms. In 1876, belian wood planks replaced the nipah palms walls. The name was changed to Masjid Bandar Kuching in the 1960’s from its original name Masjid India (Masjid Tambi).

Other than the Indian Muslim community, at that time when there was no road transportation yet, the

Malay Muslims from the costal villages also come to the mosque to pray and rest when they come to trade in the city.

In those days when there were no roads to the costal, the villagers travel by boats and would berth their sampans by the river beside Gambir Street wet market  and visit the mosque for prayers. Sometimes, they lodged in the mosque before returning to their villages. To this day, Masjid India provides shelter to tired travelers.

The time for prayers is marked by the sounding of a drum, known locally as the ‘bedok’. That drum has been in use for 50 over years.

Being in the heart of the city, it is a convenient place of worship for Muslims working in the area and shoppers  On a Fridays, the congregation could swells to over 1,000 while on ordinary weekdays some 400 gather for prayers.

The mosque also started the first religious school in Sarawak back in 1940’s. The Madrasah Islamiah remains in operation.

A committee Lembaga Amanah Khairat administrates the Masjid India, and whatever funds collected will be used to maintain the mosque. Funds for maintaining the mosque come from rent collected from 23 neighboring shops owned mainly by Indian Muslims who sold groceries, spices, cloth and books. Two Chinese shopkeepers also operate their businesses in the area. These family businesses have been handed down through the generations.

Welcome to Kuching !