Work on Rs 15 Cr Kadri Market STOPPED Due to Technical Issues & Non-Payment to Contractor
Mangaluru : While the construction of the state-of-art Central Market in the heart of the City is on stay order by High Court, until further notice; even when the new Urwa Market inaugurated in January 2019 and Kavoor market launched in February 2019, (Ref: Unoccupied Rs 12 Crore Urwa Market Now a Haven for Alcoholics, Beggars & Stray Dogs? ) but still not in operation; new Kudroli/Alake market is scheduled to be inaugurated in the first week of October 2020 (may be 2 Oct on Gandhi Jayanti), chances are that it’s fate could be like the Urwa and Kavoor markets; and the dredging work for construction of Kankanady market has just started, but in the meantime, the work on the Kadri market started in late 2018, until 2-3 months ago, the work has STOPPED- the reason being TECHNICAL ISSUES ( about height of the structure/Pillars), and also NON-PAYMENT to the contractor.
How about that? When our elected leaders have money to sanction on unwanted projects like- fencing the nethravati Bridge to prevent people from committing suicide (jumping off the bridge into the river); constructing the Clock Tower costing nearly one Crore (critics say it is one of the stupidest project undertaken by MCC spending so much money); or Constructing Indoor Kabbadi stadium etc- but they don’t have money to pay the contractor on a market project, which is more useful and needed than any of the on-going projects taken up, either by Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) or Mangaluru Smart City Ltd (MSCL) (Ref : Shabby Kadri Market to be Replaced with Rs 15 Cr State-of-the-Art Market Complex )
It was some good news for citizens when the construction of Kadri market was started last year, since they have been patronizing the shabby Kadri Market, which was nearly 40 years old, to buy their Meats, Vegetables, and other groceries, and that within two years or so, they could have enjoyed shopping for their daily necessities in a brand new state-of-the-art Market Complex in the same location. But now with the work stopped on the Kadri market, their hopes are shattered. The old MCC Kadri Market was all set to get a face lift as the civic body has proposed to reconstruct it at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore. With the State government giving the technical approval for the proposed project, and also the administrative approval from the State Cabinet, the construction of the new Market Complex started, and would take nearly 18 months to complete.
When Team Mangalorean contacted one of the MCC Engineers, he said that the work has been terminated due to Covid-19 restrictions, and they didn’t want the workers to get affected due to the pandemic. Frankly speaking, the reason for stoppage of work as said by the MCC engineer, is way far from TRUTH. While work on other buildings/apartments in the City is going on with no interruptions, why only this project of MCC has to be stopped? The real truth behind the work stopped on Kadri Market, as per rumours is that there are a few technical issues ( height of pillars/structure) and non-payment to the contractor. And many say, it is true.
Looking at the present condition of the incomplete Kadri Market, there is water stranded at the bottom of the building, giving scope for mosquito’s to breed and spread diseases, like Dengue and malaria. And there are apartments nearby, also the Kanara Club and DK Congress Office, among others. Does anyone care about it-probably not! The rod beams/poles are all rusted, and could be dangerous to continue further construction in that condition. The whole area is shabby and looks disastrous. Is this how a up-coming Rs 15 crore Market building should look in its initial stages-VERY SAD, to know that our City is named as “SMART CITY’?
It was learnt prior to the construction of Kadri market, the civic body would invest Rs 4 crore from its enterprise fund and raise Rs 6 crore through a loan from a nationalised bank. The remaining Rs 5-6 crore will be taken as a loan from the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC). The Market Complex would have a basement, lower and upper ground floors and three storeys. There would be provisions for selling meat and vegetables separately. In addition, the complex would have shops. The civic body had mooted the proposal nearly two years ago by writing to the KUIDFC to prepare the feasibility report on the project on May 30, 2016. Finally the Urban Development Department approved the project in its meeting on September 26, 2017. The project estimate and plan has also been approved by the PWD department.
MCC after constructing temporary market cells located opposite to the present Market, where all the shops existed in the old market were shifted to these temporary stalls, when the work of the new Market Complex began. These temporary stalls were built at a cost of around Rs 10 lakh, where at present there are 36 stalls, or so. The state-of-the-art market complex will be constructed on a 70 cents, which includes the present 25 cents and the 45 cents land which lies adjacent to the present market site which will also be used. The foundation for the complex was laid on 26 March 2018, and after the work started it would take about 18 months to complete, it was said, and once completed, it will be a nice Market Complex. But unfortunately, looking at the present state of the Market, it could be just another story like the Pumpwell flyover project?