By November, S.M. Street, the prime shopping hub of the city, will be a new experience for shoppers with a paved road, footpaths, toilets and other facilities coming up as part of its renovation. However, the decision to ban traffic on the street post-renovation has irked merchants who say that the move will adversely affect their sales.
The district administration wants to ban traffic saying that similar streets worldwide have not allowed entry of vehicles. However, the merchants claim that the number of shoppers coming to the street will reduce if traffic is banned. “There are no such streets anywhere in India,” State president of Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi T. Nazirudheen said.. Traffic has been partially banned on the street for the past three months. The merchants claim that sales were comparatively low during the festival season that just ended due to the ban. The greatest difficulty faced by the merchants was in bringing goods to the street. They can’t also bring their own vehicles to the street.
At present, there are five parking spaces on the street, while there are none outside.
Besides shops, there are houses, temples and a nursing home on the street. The move to ban traffic on the street will affect them too, they say. “There are around 5,000 employees working in different establishments on the street. They come in two-wheelers. Where will they keep their vehicles?” he asked.
The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has plans to construct a parking plaza at the entrance of the street, but it will take years to be completed.
Meanwhile, the merchants are planning to adopt protest measures against the proposed traffic ban. A blue-volunteer march will be held on the street on Thursday. Mr. Nazirudheen has threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike if the ban is imposed. The merchants also plan to protest by closing down all shops during the inaugural function scheduled for mid-November.
