In an effort to de-congest the stretch of Mettupalayam Road near the wholesale vegetable market and the bus stand, the Coimbatore Corporation is preparing plans to shift the market.
The Corporation is looking at its now-abandoned dump yard in Kavundampalayam, popularly Eru Company, as an alternative place to house the new wholesale market, Commissioner Sravan Kumar Jatavath said.
The wholesale market – popularly known as the MGR Wholesale Vegetable Market – is right next to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation depot and office and opposite the bus stand housing buses bound for Ooty and a few Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation buses.
The movement of lorries taking vegetables to and from the market, entry and exit of mini lorries and small goods carriers and two-wheelers parked in front of the market lead to traffic congestion, which gets worse when buses enter and leave the bus stand. The fact that the market has only a gate for vehicles to enter and exit adds to the congestion, say vegetable traders.
To ease the congestion on the stretch, the Corporation had proposed the Kavundampalayam dump yard and had begun negotiations with the traders, Mr. Jatavath said. “The civic body had asked the traders how much space should it provide to each of the shops for them to conduct business with ease, other common facilities they require and come up with a list of requirements.”
The meeting took place about 10 days ago in which representatives of the two unions participated, said C.R. Srinivasan alias Vasu of the MGR Market All Wholesale Vegetable Traders’ Association.
The market where it was housed at present was spread over 2.75 acre with another two acre for vehicle parking. It has around 120 shops, big and small.
The traders, therefore, told the Corporation officials that they would like to have three categories of shops, starting with the biggest ones spread over 1,200 sq.ft. at the proposed market. The traders also sought 60-foot-wide pathways for easy movement of lorries and other goods carriers, roofed but open sheds for traders to pile their stocks before loading onto trucks, weighing bridge, toilets, drinking water facility and above all a proper drainage system.
“The traders laid emphasis on water and drainage system because without these two at the present location, the traders suffer. More so, during rainy season when sewage from K.K. Pudur flows into the market,” Mr. Srinivasan says.
The traders had wanted the market to be spread over at least 10 acres so that the future needs were also accommodated but that appears to be a point that the two sides would discuss in their second round of talks.
“While the traders sought at least 10 – 12 acre, the Corporation was ready to give only around five acre. With this size of land, the shifting of the market will have little meaning as it will mean shifting congestion from one part of the Mettupalayam Road to another,” he adds.
The Corporation officials said they would hold further negotiations on this aspect before deciding if the project would reach fruition.
