Bhubaneswar, July 23: The capital is set to have its first modern neighbourhood market at Nageswar Tangi. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has identified a plot in ward No. 52 and invited a expression of interest from architects for the proposed market complex.

City engineer T.B.K. Shroff said the proposed market would be a two-storey building with nearly 40 shops. “The market will have adequate parking space and toilets. The construction will begin once the plan and design is ready,” said Shroff.

The corporation has a plan to come up with at least one such market complex in each of the 60 wards of the city. Delay in identification of land for this purpose has been the major impediment so far.

According to the plan, each market will come up on nearly an acre. These complexes will have vegetable shops, meat shops and other traders selling essential commodities.

Sources in the BMC said poor people learning vocational trades in BMC-recognised technical institutes may get the opportunity to start business from the neighbourhood markets.

While the corporation will auction nearly 90 per cent of the kiosks, the remaining will be reserved for government-run agencies. The civic body is also planning to reserve some kiosks for physically-challenged people.

The concept of neighbourhood market aims to streamline the unorganised street vending. Sources in the BMC said in most cases, vendors built their shop by encroaching on government land and at the same time, these shops create traffic chaos in the locality.

But unlike vending zones, the neighbourhood market complexes have a permanent structure because the buildings will be constructed on government land. Adequate parking space will also eliminate traffic mess.

“The vending zones have become a major concern from the traffic point of view. The corporation’s decision to built specialised market complexes with adequate parking lots will be a relief to the traffic congestion,” said a senior police officer.

However, the biggest challenge for the corporation will be to rehabilitate the street vendors, who have been doing business in the city for a long time. Only about 2,200 out of the total 22,000 street vendors have been rehabilitated in 56 vending zones across the city.

“This is a welcome step by the civic authorities. But the authorities must ensure that all the street vendors of the locality gets a kiosk to do business, because otherwise, these people will lose their livelihood,” said Chagala Behera, a vegetable vendor at Nageswar Tangi.