The work on the rehabilitation block, which would house the shops of traders who had to give up their business space for the Palayam Connemara Market redevelopment, began last week.
Temporary pre-fabricated steel structures will be used to construct the rehabilitation blocks. According to officials of the city Corporation’s Smart City project, under which the redevelopment project is being implemented, the work on the blocks are expected to be completed within eight months.
The construction of the rehabilitation block is being done on the land under the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA). Out of the more than one acre of land, 40 cents of land used to be a waste dump behind the market and was reclaimed last year through an intensive bio-mining process.
The 40 cents of land thus reclaimed and the 62 cents of vacant land adjacent to it are being used for the construction of the rehabilitation block for close to 500 traders who will be displaced during the construction activities of Palayam Market. Fifty shops under TRIDA will be given permanent shops in the vacant M Block.
The Corporation, Smart City officials, and people’s representatives had to organise meetings with the traders recently to convince them to relocate to the rehabilitation blocks. The existing cramped spaces will be replaced by a multi-level complex, which will also include parking spaces and extra commercial spaces. The development activities will be carried out within the market area by retaining the 19th century arched gate, which is considered as one of the heritage monuments of the city.
The land within the market area is partly owned by the city Corporation and partly by the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA). The development works under the Smart City project will be carried out mostly on the land owned by the civic body.
The project pegged at around ₹100 crore will consist of a three floor complex and two additional floors underground for parking. The existing shops, including the fish and vegetable vending markets, will mostly be accommodated on the first floor of the complex. The second and third floors are meant to accommodate the new shops.
