Come October, residents visiting Patna Haat would enjoy cultural programmes and the state's delicacies at a food court.

The industries department, which opened the haat on August 5, have taken the decision to boost the footfall at the city's first such permanent facility. Planned on the lines of the Dilli Haat in the national capital, the department spent around Rs 2.54 crore on developing Patna Haat on the Upendra Maharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan campus in the interiors of Patliputra.

The footfall has, however, left a lot to be desired.

The Patna Haat is open between 11am and 8pm all days of the week. At present, there are 25 shops selling traditional artisan products, including Madhubani, sikki and tikuli art, but only 50-100 people visit the haat daily. So, the decision was taken to start cultural programmes and a food court to draw the people's attention.

Dilli Haat regularly holds cultural programmes on its open stage and it's a centre of attraction. At least 1,000 people drop in at the Delhi facility daily to check out programmes and products at the 100 and odd shops. The state government officials now wish to replicate the same model to draw more visitors.

Ashok Kumar Sinha, the director of Upendra Maharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan, said: "The plan to start cultural programmes and a food court at Patna Haat has been approved. The cultural programmes would be started under the name of Choupal and performances would be staged every Saturday and Sunday. We have decided to take help of local artistes associated with Indian People's Theatre Association and Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir among others. Advertisements for the food court have been issued and we are awaiting funds from the department for staging the cultural programmes. We would prioritise authentic local dishes such as litti-chokha at the food court."

Craftsmen and entrepreneurs welcomed the decision.

"Visitors' flow at the haat is not too good. Whether it's because of the location or something else I don't know. But I am happy that the industries department has decided to start cultural programmes and a food court here. This would definitely help increase footfall," said Sunita Prakash, an entrepreneur selling saris, umbrellas and handbags embossed with Madhubani paintings, among others, at Patna Haat.

The industries department aims to increase the footfall to around 500 people a day.

In another good news, the department has decided to allot shops to the craftsmen at Patna Haat for free. "We were charging craftsmen Rs 1,500 to set up shop at Patna Haat for a month but the response has not been good. Now, we have decided not to charge the craftsmen anything," added Sinha.

At the haat, craftsmen and entrepreueners are given a stall for a month on rotation. Sinha said craftsmen interested in taking a shop at Patna Haat in the next three months can send their applications by August 18.