Corporation eyes G.Corner as new site for wholesale markets

After several unsuccessful attempts to identify a suitable site for shifting the wholesale sections of the Gandhi Market to the outskirts of the city over the past couple of decades, Tiruchi Corporation is now exploring the feasibility of relocating the wholesale markets to G.Corner grounds near Golden Rock.

The site owned by the corporation is located off the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass road. It was one of the sites that was considered for establishing an integrated bus stand some years ago.

The latest move of the corporation comes after the Madras High Court Bench struck down, some months ago, the sale of 3.39 acres of land belonging to the Tiruchi District Cooperative Milk Producers Union (Aavin) to Tiruchi Corporation. The corporation had planned to acquire the land for relocating the wholesale markets. The “sale” of the old dairy farm to the corporation was pushed through hurriedly during the previous government despite stiff opposition from milk producers.

Prior to this, the corporation had planned to shift the wholesale markets to a site off the Chennai Bypass Road, also close to Ariyamangalam. The proposal too had failed to take off.

Left with no other option but to take a fresh look at the issue and identify a new site, the corporation is now examining the suitability of the G.Corner site for the purpose. On Monday, Mayor A.Jaya and Corporation Commissioner V.P.Thandapani along with senior officials inspected the site.

The corporation plans to relocate the wholesale banana, onion and jaggery markets, which are literally functioning now on the roadsides along the Gandhi Market to this spot.

Corporation sources, however, indicated that the suitability of the site has to be considered, before a proposal was firmed up. Mr.Thandapani too echoed similar views. “It was a preliminary visit. We have to examine the feasibility in detail,” he told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, H.Ghouse Baig, secretary of Golden Rock branch of Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu, said any move to shift the wholesale markets to G.Corner should be considered if and only after an underpass was built across the four-lane Chennai Bypass Road. Residents of Golden Rock and other residential colonies have been demanding construction of an underpass at the G.Corner junction as they have been denied direct access to Golden Rock from the highway after it was become four lane.

“If the wholesale markets were to be shifted here, all lorries transporting goods would have to use the service lanes, adding to the traffic problems at the junction,” he said and urged the corporation to initiate steps to build an underpass before going ahead with the proposal to shift the markets to the G.Corner grounds.