Is the govt going to build Taj Mahal at Little India?
Big plans in store for Little India
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20090420/B3-2.jpg
LITTLE India is upping the ante to draw more crowds to the ethnic quarter with a new heritage centre, better service and more colourful events.
Work on the new $20 million Indian Heritage Centre to be built in Campbell Lane - which will showcase the history of Singapore Indians - will begin soon.
Over the next six months, a sub-committee that is gathering content for the centre will speak with community groups to piece together 'an inventory of ideas' and collect 'an inventory of
artefacts', Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan told The Straits Times yesterday.
The centre will help Singaporean Indians find out more about their identity, as well as give tourists a better overview of the community, he said.
The chairman of the centre's steering committee gave details of the project on the sidelines of a free street concert, held in an open field along Serangoon Road last night to celebrate the Tamil New Year.
Two other initiatives to draw more crowds were also unveiled.
From next week, about 1,000 shopkeepers will go for training under the Workforce Development Agency's (WDA) Gems service programme.
The Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association's chairman Raj Kumar Chandra said that with the downturn, it is even more important to give good service. Previously, shopkeepers tried to send their employees for training but many could not participate fully in the WDA's English-only course.
The association is now working with the WDA to teach the course in Tamil and break the course into more manageable chunks, Mr Raj Kumar said.
The association will also be organising more events - such as parties and concerts - to draw crowds, he added.
To keep up the momentum, the area will host another concert next week to celebrate the Bangladeshi New Year for migrant workers.
Adding to yesterday's celebrations, the Shree Lakshminarayan Temple held a walkathon to commemorate its 40th anniversary and to raise part of the $400,000 needed for a major renovation. About 1,500 people turned up to make four rounds of Serangoon Stadium's track, each signifying a decade of the temple's existence.
Big plans in store for Little India
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20090420/B3-2.jpg
LITTLE India is upping the ante to draw more crowds to the ethnic quarter with a new heritage centre, better service and more colourful events.
Work on the new $20 million Indian Heritage Centre to be built in Campbell Lane - which will showcase the history of Singapore Indians - will begin soon.
Over the next six months, a sub-committee that is gathering content for the centre will speak with community groups to piece together 'an inventory of ideas' and collect 'an inventory of
artefacts', Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan told The Straits Times yesterday.
The centre will help Singaporean Indians find out more about their identity, as well as give tourists a better overview of the community, he said.
The chairman of the centre's steering committee gave details of the project on the sidelines of a free street concert, held in an open field along Serangoon Road last night to celebrate the Tamil New Year.
Two other initiatives to draw more crowds were also unveiled.
From next week, about 1,000 shopkeepers will go for training under the Workforce Development Agency's (WDA) Gems service programme.
The Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association's chairman Raj Kumar Chandra said that with the downturn, it is even more important to give good service. Previously, shopkeepers tried to send their employees for training but many could not participate fully in the WDA's English-only course.
The association is now working with the WDA to teach the course in Tamil and break the course into more manageable chunks, Mr Raj Kumar said.
The association will also be organising more events - such as parties and concerts - to draw crowds, he added.
To keep up the momentum, the area will host another concert next week to celebrate the Bangladeshi New Year for migrant workers.
Adding to yesterday's celebrations, the Shree Lakshminarayan Temple held a walkathon to commemorate its 40th anniversary and to raise part of the $400,000 needed for a major renovation. About 1,500 people turned up to make four rounds of Serangoon Stadium's track, each signifying a decade of the temple's existence.
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