MCC provides Sheds for Retail Merchants of Original Central Market til Temporary Central Market is Built
Mangaluru: While the wholesale traders have been shifted from the old location of Central Market which used to be in the heart of the city, to Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Yard in Baikampady, in the outskirts of Mangaluru on 4 April 2020- and also the veg and fruit retailers and other businesses who were operating their businesses in the old building ordered to move out, due to congestion of space which abuses the guidelines of Covid-19- and also that Mangaluru City Corporation has plans to demolish the old Central Market and build a state-of-the-art new Central Market, in the meantime, the retail merchants who had no place to continue their business, and having no income had held a protest on 6 May 2020, near Lady Goschen Hospital demanding that they are provided places so that they could earn their living until the temporary market is built in few months.
Retail Merchants staging a protest with their various demands
The street vendors who had staged a protest against the construction of the temporary market by encroaching the 10 ft road, had alleged that when they were earning their livelihood, the MCC used to frequently raid their shops, thereby hurting their business and income. Now, why is MCC encroaching the road near the Lady Goschen hospital and constructing the temporary market?” asked these merchants. In response to the demands placed before the Mangaluru City Corporation during the protest, MCC Mayor, MLA Vedavyas Kamath, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and other officials obliged their certain demands, and for the timing, to earn their living the administration has installed temporary aluminium sheet covered sheds, for the benefit of these retailers. (Ref: Street Vendors Stage Protest against temporary Market Construction near Lady Goschen )
These sheds have been put up near the Indira Canteen, where it has been a parking lot for tempos, mini trucks for decades; near Town Hall compound wall; and along the street adjacent to Lady Goschen Hospital- even though the sheds are ready, the retails merchants are yet to occupy them and start their business. Even though it would face some inconveniences to the tempo, mini truck drivers to navigate in that area, but they have all agreed with mutual understanding with the Mayor, that the sheds would stay there only temporary. On the other hand, the wholesale traders who were forced by the MCC to shift to APMC Yard in Baikampady have been facing a lot of problems, mainly with no proper facilities. With no proper shops allotted to the vendors, ever since they moved to this yard, they have been selling the products laid on the ground, and many a time customers are reluctant to buy the items since they are covered with dust as a bunch of vehicles move in and out. The area has been dilapidated and wild grass has grown all around the yard, which has made a home for reptiles, and recently a python was spotted in one of the godowns there. The area seems like total unhygienic, and vendors say that ever since they shifted from the City to this Yard, their business has dropped by 40%, which has resulted in dumping bags and bags of vegetables and fruits into garbage trucks. (Ref: Chaos & No Social Distancing Seen Even Now at Central Market Operating at APMC Yard -Baikampady;
Once these retailers operate their sales using these sheds, they will be shifted to the temporary Central Market which is being built on a 2 acres land at a cost of Rs 5.25 crores near Indira canteen/Nehru Maidan vicinity, where meat shops, vegetable and fruits shops and other miscellaneous shops will come up. The new state-of-the-art market will be developed at a total cost of Rs 115 crore. A proposal to demolish the existing old Central Market building and build a new market area was approved at the MSCL board meeting held in October 2018. If everything goes according to the plan, the Central Market with the fish market will be rebuilt under Mangaluru Smart City Limited’s (MSCL) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model on Design Built Finance Operation Transfer (DBFOT). (Ref: Temporary Central Market to Come Up on 2 Acres Land near Town Hall at Cost of Rs 5.25 Crore )
Design of the state-of-the-art new Central Market
But as of now, the construction of the new market is on stay order passed by High Court. On May 5, the Senior Advocate and former Advocate general A S Ponanna, Advocate Latif Badagannoor and Akbar Pasha Argued on behalf of the writ petitioners through video conference before the single Judge. The Court then passed an order and issued a notice to the City Corporation not to demolish the City market Building. (Ref: Construction of New Central Market May be Delayed as HC Passes Stay Order on Demolition of Old Building )
