Spread over four acres and with 152 stalls, the Rytu Bazaar at Gopalapatnam is centrally located servicing a large area. In spite of weekly markets (“santas”) taking place in and around it continues to be a favourite among people right from Baji Junction and NAD Kotta Road to Vepagunta and Pursushottapuram and Kottapalem, Chandranagar, Yellapuvanipalem areas.
Though people are by and large content with the availability of vegetables at fixed rates, some vexatious problems and ad hoc measures to solve them give improvement no chance.
For instance, it has two entrances – one from the main road going towards Pendurti and the other from the south side. The 40-foot road with steep gradient on the south side that leads into the Rytu Bazaar is a shrunken to a small strip with hawkers and other private vehicles gobbling up much of the space. On Sundays or holidays, it is worse.
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Autos, cars and two-wheelers have to do tricky manoeuvrings to go near the bazaar. People are also quite unmindful of the dangers of buying perched on their two-wheelers with engine running. There is hardly any traffic regulation after one enters the road leading to Rytu Bazaar from the main road.
Stalls increased
The gate on to the main road has been in a state of disuse for years now owing to several pipeline works and BRTS road work. Several small shops that came up on the main road on the pipeline turned the rear portion that faced the Rytu Bazaar into a narrow, junk-filled strip. Work on the gate to the main road is going on now. “For the two gates, arches and compound wall money has been sanctioned,” says Estate Officer Y.V. Muralikrishna.
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The number of stalls has been increased by 40 recently. “The quality is good and we are getting all the vegetables. The prices are also comparatively less. But more shops need to be set up. One experiences a lot of crowd particularly at shops selling potatoes, tomatoes and onions,” says Sindhu, a teacher from Purushottapuram.
Concurs M. Godanayaki of Butchirajupalem, a music teacher, saying at shops may be a queue system has to be introduced to make it orderly. However, the bazaar needs to be maintained better. Even garbage and left out vegetables are thrown around emanating foul smell.
“What I find is that the varieties available at the weekly market nearby on Wednesday are not here. But over all it is ok,” says retired Director of NSTL K. Satyanarayana. Another problem that is rampant is pick-pocketing, he points out.
For sometime a constable had been posted that kept such elements at bay. But when the circle inspector at Gopalapatnam station changed, the constable vanished and it is back to square one.
People also complain about other small traders buying large quantities for sale at their shops. Besides, when rounding off the cost for lack of change, buyers are short-changed on the quantity, complains K. Venkata Rao, a retired railway guard.