Ranchi: The long-proposed market complex on the sprawling Jaipal Singh Stadium complex in Kutchery has, finally, picked up steam and is likely to be ready by July next year.
The G+4 market will boast 580 shops, 15 office spaces, a banquet hall, elevators and double-storey basement parking. Once ready, the project promises to free Mahatma Gandhi Road, a.k.a. Main Road, of vendors and consequently, frequent traffic bottlenecks.
Across the 55 civic wards in the state capital, there are around 6,700 roadside vendors registered with the Ranchi Municipal Corporation. Out of them, around 1,000 run their shops on the super busy Main Road stretch between Kutchery Chowk and Sujata Chowk.
RMC officials, who reviewed the project a few days ago, said the progress of the was satisfactory. "The market, whose construction began last year and is expected to be over by July 2018, is meant for vendors of Main Road. Their registration has been done. We plan to accommodate at least 500 vendors here," said deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya.
This correspondent too visited the site on Monday and found civil construction in steady progress under the supervision of an engineer. The RMC had given the tender to private firm Agarwal Constructions, which has engaged a sub-contractor.
"The total carpet area of the complex is around 3 lakh square feet. The basement parking will have a capacity of 240 vehicles, including cars and bikes. We will hand over a furnished building to the RMC by July," said an official of the construction agency.
Managing traffic on Main Road has always been a challenge for police while Jharkhand High Court has, on many occasions, reproved the RMC and traffic department for allowing vendors on the artery.
The deputy mayor said a similar marketing complex would be constructed at Naga Baba Khatal to clear all major roads of vendors. "I believe the proposal for the second complex will take shape in a few months," he said, stressing that the RMC was expediting all pending projects, including an urban haat at Kanke Dam exclusively for fairs.
