|
|
A family removes its kiosk at Khadgarha during the eviction drive on Monday. Picture by Hardeep Singh
|
Ranchi district administration on Monday evicted 300 vegetable kiosk owners from Khadgarha-Madhukkam behind Ranchi Hill, a process made peaceful by the Ranchi Municipal Corporation’s promise of erecting a three-storey mart for the displaced sellers.
The civic body, in fact, floated a tender on Monday, inviting builders to set up the three-storey structure. According to it, the building will cost Rs 1.70 crore. Bids will be opened on October 6 to select the builder, who will complete the work within 180 days, said RMC chief executive officer Dipankar Panda.
However, this is not strictly philanthropy on the RMC’s part. The civic body-owned three acres where the market used to be is the earmarked site for 456 units across 28 blocks for the homeless under the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) Scheme. The project was stalled when RMC’s appointed contractor R.S. Agarwal found that over an acre was occupied by vegetable vendors. The project can start now.
The makeshift vegetable mart at Khadgarha-Madhukkam was set up 12 years ago to rehabilitate vendors displaced from New Market near Kishori Yadav Chowk on Ratu Road.
But vendors, faced with eviction on Monday, behaved with restraint, reassured by the promise of a permanent market.
In fact, Ranchi district administration officials were pleasantly surprised when they launched the eviction drive. Security personnel and bulldozers stayed idle as vendors dismantled outlets on their own.
“These vendors will get permanent space in the next seven months. Shops have been removed to set up the three-storey complex spread over 90,000sqft. We have floated a tender for the construction today. Each shop owner will get 60sqft space,” said Shiv Kumar Thakur, RMC’s in-charge of Khadgarha-Madhukkam vegetable market, on inspection duty during the drive.
But vendor Yogendra Sao raised valid points.
“I am not sure if we will get space as RMC officials have not neither taken an advance fee nor photographs from us,” Sao said.
|
