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The Tiruchi Corporation plans to open the new fish-cum-meat market, which is under construction on East Boulevard Road near Gandhi Market, in December or January.
The new market is being constructed at a cost of ₹13 crore under the Smart City Mission initiative. Construction began in October and has picked up momentum. To build the new market, the Corporation demolished the tile-roofed old market, which was said to have been built about 50 years ago. The old market had about 60 stalls. While a portion of it was used by the fish traders, meat and chicken traders used the remaining portion.
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Since a section of traders had opposed the move of building a new market by demolishing the old market at the same spot, the Corporation demolished the old market after serving notice to the traders. They were subsequently given temporary space to continue their trade. While the fish traders were relocated to the Diamond Jubilee Bazaar, the meat and poultry traders were given permission to use the space near the abattoir.
According to sources, the new market is being constructed on about 25,000 square feet. It will have a two-story building. It will have 148 stalls on two floors with separate provisions made for fish, mutton and chicken traders. There will be a cold storage facility for the traders to preserve the stock. There was no parking facility for the traders and the customers in the old market. To ensure smooth traffic, a parking lot is also being constructed at the new market. It will have a capacity to park about 200 two-wheelers.
A senior official of the Corporation told The Hindu that nearly 75% of the construction work had already been completed. Construction of roof and brickworks were over. Plastering, electrical and plumping work had been undertaken. It was expected that all works would be completed within December. Once the completion of all works, the process of allocation of shops would begin. Chances were bright for opening the new market in December or January.