The crumbling GD Market building is finally getting much-needed repairs, albeit at a snail’s pace.
The two-storey building in GD Block houses more than 39 shops and has been left in a state of neglect for years.
While chunks falling off from the ceiling is a common affair the state of the bathrooms was so dismal that let alone customers, even shopkeepers and helps, have stopped using them.
A stationery shop owner inside the market said that it had been in this state for the past decade or so.
“Our market building had been in a state of neglect for more than 10 years. Repairs have started now but it is an extremely slow affair and workmen are being rarely spotted,” said the shop owner who did not wish to be named.
While cracks run along several walls of the building the wiling too has exposed iron rods where chunks have fallen off.
A section of shopkeepers said that the market’s roof had been the most unsafe part and there was no telling when a portion of the ceiling might come down injuring people.
“We have been fortunate that there have not been any accidents yet but the entire building is extremely unsafe in terms of the building structural integrity,” said another shop owner who was one of the first to move into the market back in the 90s.
Chunks have fallen off the cornice.
The bathrooms too had gotten completely blocked up and shopkeepers were forced to use the toilet of the nearby GD bus terminus.
Now in order to save the roof of the building, workmen have installed bamboo supports while work on repairing it is on.
The bathroom, propped up by support, too will get attention. an official of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said.
Ranjan Poddar, the councillor of Ward 34, said that the plan is to revamp the market building completely.
According to him, new floor tiles will be installed and the roof too will be fully repaired before the entire structure is repainted.
Bamboo poles hold up the roof in the first floor verandah.
Asked about the slow pace of repairs, Poddar said that he would take action and ask the contractor deployed to carry out the repair work to expedite it.
“Since most of the repairs have got to do with the structural stability it might seem that the repair work is going slow. However I will ask the contractor to speed up,” Poddar said.
According to him, the work can be completed sooner If the market is shut down for a few days which is something that the shop owners have objected to.
“If we shut it down, it will cause inconvenience to a lot of residents as well as have an impact on shopkeepers. This is something that we don’t want,” Poddar added.
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