An artist’s impression of the proposed new building of Unit-I Daily Market

Bhubaneswar, June 10: Protests have come in the way of a few ambitious projects of the municipal corporation here, such as renovation of the Unit-I Daily Market and construction of two foot overbridges.

The Unit-I Daily Market is facing protests from local traders as they allege that the civic body is not including all of them in its rehabilitation plan.

A four-storey structure with a basement for parking is supposed to come up where the old market stands. The old market building will be demolished.

About 1,440 traders conduct business at the present complex, while only 1,053 of them are permanent allottees. Of the remaining 387 traders, the corporation collects daily tax from 263.

According to the renovation plans, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation will provide space only to the permanent allottees. All the traders have expressed their dissatisfaction with this decision. They have demanded rehabilitation for all 1,440 shopkeepers.

President of the Rajdhani Daily Market Traders’ Association Gayadhar Swain, however, refused to believe that their protest was delaying the project. He said: “The market renovation project is getting delayed because of the tardy progress of work by the corporation. They plan to demolish about 30 government quarters, but only seven have been razed till date.”

Swain said: “The authorities must include all the traders who have been running their family business here for generations. As some are doing business at a place of their grandparents, the allotment should be made in their names. But, till date there is no assurance from the authorities concerned in this regard.”

The proposed Rs 100 crore market complex modernisation project at Unit-I will include sales counters for vegetables, fruits, non-vegetarian products and food courts on the ground floor. Grocery items, food grains, clothes and puja items will find place on the first floor. Utensils, jewellery, handicrafts and shoes will be on the second floor and stationary, books, mobiles and electronics, hardware and automobile parts will be sold on the third floor.

Municipal commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra said: “We are getting frustrated as the projects are getting delayed because of the protests.”

In another case, residents of Jayadev Vihar are opposing a plan to build a foot overbridge near a mall on the Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan road. They want the bridge to be come up at the main square as they think that would be more convenient for commuters.

The residents claim that the construction of the overbridge near the mall would make people walk for nearly 200 metres more, creating inconvenience for senior citizens.

At Saheed Nagar, the proposal to build an overbridge near Rama Devi Women's College is being opposed, as it would affect the shopkeepers there. A resident of the area, Bijay Mishra, said the civic authorities should ignore the shopkeepers’ concern and go ahead with its plan to construct the overbridge near Rupali Square. “The land in front of the market does not belong to the traders,” he said.

The municipal commissioner said all these projects had been finalised following consultation with engineers, architects, planners and local residents.

“The residents should appreciate our work and the projects and help in their smooth execution,” he said.