Bhubaneswar, Aug 25: The residents of Gandamunda have demanded conversion of the Gandamunda Haat into a daily market so that they can get their daily requirements from there.

As the market remains open only for three hours on Tuesdays and Fridays, the local residents have to depend on the Sundarpada market, which is far away.

Several local residents, led by Bairagicharan Behera, a former auditor with the accountant-general’s office here, filed a petition in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office. They also sought better management of the haat.

“We heard that the civic authorities were going to close down the market so we came here to file the complaint. As it is the only market between Sundarpada and Khandagiri, it should be developed into a daily one and should not be closed at any cost,’’ said Behera.

Damodar Mohanty, a resident of Jagmohan Nagar, said: “Gandamunda Haat was established by the civic body in 2006 to help the people staying around here. As the population has increased manifold, there is a need to improve its service. It needs better cleaning and provision of basic facilities such as water and toilets.”

Local councillor Hrudayaballabh Samantray (ward No. 62) said: “The market is suffering due to a faulty decision of the BMC market section. While the original vendors were neglected during allotment, the shops were allotted to people who had no connection with the vending or trading of vegetables or household goods.'”

Sources said while 176 shops were available at the market, only 133 were allotted to applicants. “There is a need for re-assessment of the entire allotment process,’’ said Samantray.

A local resident said while the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had earlier raised complaints about the selling of chicken and fish in the market to avoid bird-hit cases, these are being sold at the “haat” despite it being managed by the BMC.

“Encorachment is also a problem and many people are staying permanently inside with no supervision by the civic authorities,’’ said the councillor.

BMC secretary Debashish Mohanty told The Telegraph that there was no plan to close down the market and it has been decided to make it a daily market shortly.

“We will take up regular cleaning so that there are no complaints concerning the area’s cleanliness. Since people depend on this market for their food and household supply needs, the BMC will take measures to change its look,” he added.

“It is high time the civic authorities develop more local markets to lessen dependence on Unit-I, Unit-IV and Saheed Nagar markets to reduce the problem of traffic congestion and parking,’’ said Bijay Mishra, a resident of Nayapalli.