By Shikin Lou
KUCHING, Feb 14: The India Street Pedestrian Mall here will be upgraded without affecting its heritage features and values, says Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) mayor Hilmy Othman.
He said India Street has been identified as one of the heritage areas in Kuching, alongside Carpenter Street, Kai Joo Lane and so on.
“So far, the civil improvement and infrastructure are all done. The upgrading will only involve the beautification of these places – maybe some lighting and facilities to help boost the businesses.
“As far as infrastructure is concerned, we want them to be maintained as it is in view of the heritage values. We do not want to change these places into skyscrapers or something like that.
“We just want to uplift and upgrade the heritage that has been built up all this while in India Street and other places,” he told reporters after gracing the Lion Dance Performance in conjunction with Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration at India Street here today.
Hilmy added that his team is gathering feedback from the local community and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to assist in the beautification project.
Meanwhile, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng who is the president of India Street Pedestrian Mall Merchants Association, stated that the India Street’s annual Lion Dance Performance will be implemented in a larger scale next year.
Also present was MBKS deputy mayor Dato Zaiedi Suhaili. — DayakDaily
