The Salagame Road in Hassan city is busy on all days. On Tuesdays, it gets congested as a part of it in front of the district stadium turns into a place for the weekly market. Hundreds of people from nearby villages put up stalls to sell vegetables, butter and other products on the pavements.
Salagame Road connects Hassan city with Halebidu. Hundreds of vehicles, including KSRTC buses, take the road. As stalls are put up on both edges of the road, there are chances of accidents. The residents nearby and the shopkeepers have been appealing to the district administration to shift the market to a suitable place.
Earlier, the weekly market was held on a college road, where the residents complained that the shops closed entry to their places. During the COVID-19 restrictions, markets were banned for several months. When the restrictions were relaxed, Hassan district administration allowed the market in the spacious district stadium. Gradually, the market was shifted to Salagame Road, as the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports maintained that the vegetable market could not be allowed in the place meant for sports.
Sharadamma, a resident of Hemavati Nagar, said, “Allowing the market on the road is highly risky. A minor negligence may lead to an accident, considering the number of vehicles on the busy road. The district stadium offers its place to put up stalls that sell firecrackers during Deepavali. Similarly, the place should be used for the market”.
Hassan City Municipal Council Commissioner R.Krishnamurthy said the council made efforts to shift the market to the district stadium premises, where there would not be risk of accidents. “But the person in charge of the district stadium is not allowing it to happen. Somehow we are managing with the available space. If the officers agree, we are ready to ensure cleanliness of the place. Anyhow, only once a week, the market is held”, he said.
However, C.K.Harish, Assistant Director of Youth Empowerment and Sports, said market could not be allowed on the stadium premises. “The place is meant for sports activities. There are clear instructions from the department not to allow the vegetable market. Moreover the place where stalls were put up earlier is being utilised to set up kabaddi and kho-kho courts”, he said.
