Bhubaneswar, Jan. 31: Fruit vendors here are yet to be relocated to the new facility near Market Building at Unit-II even though 18 months have elapsed since the chief minister inaugurated it on Local Self-Government Day in 2015.
The market in a three-storey building near the petrol pump at Unit-II was built to house fruit vendors. However, the building is locked and the fate of the fruit market is mired in uncertainty.
The building was constructed with the aim of decongesting the stretch between AG Square and Kalpana Square, where fruit vendors occupy a major portion of the road causing traffic jams, especially during peak hours.
The facility was supposed to provide selling space to 71 fruit vendors, who conduct business on the roadside. "I was hoping to get a kiosk at the fruit market. It would have saved me from the regular harassment at the hands of police and traffic personnel," said Gayadhar Behera, a fruit vendor.
He said in 2015, the municipal corporation had asked the vendors on the stretch to move to the other side at Unit-II. "But the roadside traders there who sell clothes opposed the move. We could not continue our business there," Behera said.
The market, built at a cost of Rs 2 crore, has 24 rooms. The land for the fruit market was handed over to the civic body by the general administration department in August 2012. The BMC had identified the vendors to be shifted to the new market. Surendra Kuanr, president of the Fruit Vendors' Association, said although the general administration department had allotted land in Unit-II for setting up the market, it was stiff resistance from garment traders that led to delay in construction of the building.
Amarendra Mohanty, urban town planner and resident of Saheed Nagar, said: "The facility would have provided a great platform not only for vendors, but also customers."
Mayor Anant Narayan Jena conceded that the market was yet to get operational. He added that the contractor was yet to complete the project and hand it over to the civic body. "We will ensure that the market starts functioning as soon as possible," he said.
