Howrah, June19 :     The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) is planning to beautify the areas surrounding Howrah station by shifting the century-old wholesale fish and betel leaf markets - the biggest of their kind in the eastern region - to another part of the town. Once this is done, commuters will not be overwhelmed by the stink of rotting fish as they pass the area. HMC mayor Subinoy Ghosh said the corporation had undertaken a number of projects to beautify Howrah. 'But our first job is to make the town's gateway attractive,' said Ghosh. A huge plot has been already earmarked near Belilious Park, behind Narasingha Dutta College, in central Howrah, to set up the new markets for fish and betel leaf traders. The area adjacent to the station, where the wholesale markets stand, will be developed for commercial purposes. Besides the offensive odour, accumulated garbage at the markets leads to traffic snarl-ups during the peak hours. After a big fire in 1985, the fish stalls were shifted to a building adjacent to the market constructed by the Howrah Improvement Trust (HIT). The government has approved the preliminary plans for shifting the markets. The corporation is likely to complete the final plan within the next two weeks, when the final approval of the state government will be sought, HMC sources said. The plan to shift the fish market has been pending for a long time. There was a strong demand for shifting the markets from various circles in Howrah for quite some time. Huge piles of decomposed fish and other wastes posed a health hazard to residents of the locality. But the fish and betel leaf traders opposed the HMC's plan because they would incur heavy losses if the scheme was implemented. They said the present site was ideal because of its proximity to Howrah station, where consignments arrived from other states. They would have to bear huge transportation costs if the markets were shifted elsewhere. 'It was for this reason that the markets were set up in the vicinity of Howrah station. If the scheme is implemented the average retail price of fish will automatically rise which will finally affect consumers,' said D. Chakraborty, a fish stall-owner.