The Hindu 20.11.2013
Integrated market to come up at Panchapur
The Tiruchirapalli City Corporation has planned to
establish an integrated market complex at Panchapur on the outskirts of
the city to move the wholesale sections of the Gandhi Market.
The
recent plans on shifting the onion wholesale market to the Sengulam
Colony Market and build some shops for the banana market at Viragupettai
overhead water tank complex are only aimed at decongesting the Gandhi
Market and easing traffic flow around the market, said Corporation
Commissioner V.P. Thandapani here on Tuesday.
“We
have drawn up a master plan to create an integrated market complex at
Panchapur. However, the project could take about two to two-and-a-half
years to come to fruition. In the meantime, the shifting of the onion
wholesale market and partial shifting of banana to Viragupettai are
interim measures,” he said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a
function got up in connection with the World Toilet Day at the
Corporation.
The Commissioner’s statement comes in
the wake of the disappointment expressed by onion and banana wholesale
traders over the civic body’s recent announcement on shifting the onion
wholesale market and part of the banana wholesale traders. The traders
associations had favoured shifting of the market to an integrated
complex.
The corporation move comes following several
unsuccessful attempts to identify a suitable site for shifting the
wholesale section of Gandhi Market to the outskirts over the past couple
of decades.
Just a few months ago, the civic body
had announced a plan to shift the onion and banana traders to G. Corner
grounds near Golden Rock only to drop it owing to certain legal
impediments.
Mr. Thandapani said the proposal to
renovate the Gandhi Market, established about 70 years ago, would be
executed in three phases. Once renovated, the market spread over about
6.5 acres, could cater to the retail shops. The civic body has also
taken up construction of a modern slaughter house behind the market. It
has also decided to set up modern fish market one behind the Gandhi
Market and the other on the Kuzhumani Road.
“The
measures are aimed at easing the traffic congestion around the market
pending the establishment of the integrated market complex,” he said.
