MCC Out, MUDA In? Mangaluru Urban Development Authority to Open & Manage Rs 12.3 Cr Urwa Market
Mangaluru: The Urwa Market built at a cost of Rs 12.3 crore, and which was inaugurated in January 2019, has been closed the next day after inauguration until now, will soon be taken over by Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) from Mangaluru City Corporation to carry on with the business. The closure of the Market after it was inaugurated was due to some confusion regarding its operation and management. While the then District Minister-in-charge Ramanath Rai had laid the foundation stone for the market complex in 2016, the market was inaugurated by Urban Development minister U T Khader on 27 January 2019.
During the recent meeting held at the MUDA office, it was decided to open the Market complex under MUDA, thus the confusion of handing over the building to MCC comes to an end. The three-storey market complex of 84,891 sq ft size was built at Urwa after vacating all shopkeepers three years ago. The new building has a total of 122 stalls and a spacious parking area in its basement, with a capacity to park 73 cars and 40 two wheelers. It has a space for 21 fish outlets,stalls for mutton/chicken and other meat, vegetables, fruits, flowers and premises for other businesses. In addition, the complex has also space for offices and a canteen.
All shopkeepers, who were operating business at the location, were shifted to a temporary market yard near the present new complex, when the project was taken up in December 2016. In fact, it was the MCC’s market, and the same was handed over to MUDA for development. Even though the market was inaugurated last year, all shopkeepers are still continuing their business at the temporary market yard, since the process of auctioning is yet to taken up and finalized.
Speaking to media MCC Commissioner S Ajith Kumar Hegde had said that the building will be opened and managed by MUDA soon. “MCC has decided not to take over the Urwa Market complex since it has been built by taking a loan of Rs 13 crore. It will be a burden on MCC. Hence, the MUDA has decided to open it,m and we will be providing the required logistics”
With the new market complex remaining unoccupied for a year even after inauguration, there has been theft of various utility fixtures and other materials, and the place had been used for illegal activities, like drinking, smoking etc etc. During the recent monsoon the whole basement of the complex was flooded, giving scope for breeding of mosquitoes, even when there was scare of dengue and malaria diseases. Now that it has been finalized that MUDA will finally take over the complex and run it, we will still have to keep our fingers crossed until we see the doors of the Market are open for business-until then it will still be history?
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