Traders want integrated complex like Koyambedu market

Corporation Commissioner V.P. Thandapani on Thursday held a meeting with representatives of some of the wholesale traders associations of Gandhi Market to discuss the civic body’s plans to shift some sections of the wholesale traders.

The meeting comes close on the heels of Mayor A. Jaya’s recent announcement on shifting the onion wholesale traders to the Sengulam Colony market and part of the banana wholesale section to Virugapettai overhead water tank complex.

While the onion wholesale traders are currently functioning along the Sub-Jail Road outside Gandhi Market, banana traders are operating out of shops adjacent to the market.

Mr. Thandapani, according to sources in the associations which participated in the preliminary meeting, briefed the traders on the civic body’s latest plans to decongest the market and its immediate surroundings to ease the traffic congestion. The corporation, he said, had planned to establish an integrated market complex at Panchapur on the outskirts to move the wholesale sections of Gandhi Market. Besides, it had planned to renovate Gandhi Market in three phases.

The civic body had planned to shift the onion wholesale market and part of the banana wholesale traders as an interim measure until the integrated market was built over the next few years.

A cross-section of the traders, who attended the meeting, however, reiterated their demand that the corporation establish an integrated market on the lines of Koyambedu market in Chennai, and opposed the move to shift the wholesale traders in bits and pieces. Traders could not shift to different places frequently as it would affect their business. Corporation sources indicated that the Mayor was likely to hold a consultative meeting with the traders next week.Mr. Thandapani also urged the traders to come forward to settle pending tax litigations through the mega Lok Adalat planned on November 23.

Source