With the Central Market for Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers at Kallikudi on the outskirts of the city awaiting opening, the district administration has stepped up efforts to persuade the wholesale traders functioning in Gandhi Market to shift to the new market complex.
District Collector K. Rajamani convened a consultative meeting with traders representatives, a section of whom have been opposing the move to shift the wholesale shops to the new market, here on Friday.
“In view of the development initiatives planned under the Smart City project in the Gandhi Market area, the traffic congestion and generation of huge volume of solid waste and to check pollution, the wholesale shops and complexes functioning at Gandhi Market will be shifted to Kallikudi soon,” the Collector told the traders, according to an official release issued after the meeting.
The Collector also pointed out that the Gandhi Market situated on just about six acres of land accommodates wholesale and retails shops dealing in vegetables, fruits, flowers and other commodities. On an average, about 300 heavy vehicles visit the market causing much traffic congestion. Handling the huge volume of solid waste generated at the market also poses problem for the Corporation. The central market at Kallikudi was built to find a solution to the problem, he added.
The market has been established at a cost of ₹77 crore on a 9.79-acre plot off Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway, about 12 km from here. The market, with modern infrastructure, has 1,000 shops, a cold storage, sorting and grading yards. “We will provide you with whatever additional facilities are required,” he said.
The project was announced by late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in July 2014 when she represented the Srirangam Assembly constituency. The project was sanctioned with assistance under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Till recently, there was no official word on whether traders of the market would be asked to shift to the new place.
A section of traders had been opposing the move on the ground that there was no prior consultation with them on the design or the location of the new facility. Some of them wanted the retail shops to be retained in the city. The Gandhi Market, established in 1940, has over 1,500 permanent and pavement shops.
