Burdwan, March 14: Several traders who had applied for shops at the proposed sweets hub in Burdwan expressed unhappiness as the project that was supposed to be inaugurated today could not take off.
While the traders alleged a major part of the construction was unfinished, the district administration said the inauguration was put off because of the higher secondary exams that begin tomorrow.
The chief minister had on January 9 announced she would inaugurate the mishti hub in Burdwan on March 14. The Burdwan zilla parishad is constructing the hub on a 23-cottah plot at Bamchandaipur on the outskirts of the town. Fifteen shops, along with a 1,025sqft common workshop, are supposed to come up in a single-storey building.
Altogether 24 sweet traders had applied for taking shops on rent at Rs 4 per sqft through a tender process last month, but they are yet to be allotted any space.
The joint secretary of the Burdwan Sitabhog Mihidana Welfare Traders' Association, Pramod Kumar Singh, said: "Some of our members, including me, have applied for shops at the mishti hub which was supposed to be inaugurated today. But I have no information why it was not done."
Work had started on a war footing after the chief minister had announced the inauguration of the hub. When this correspondent visited the project site yesterday, the building was yet to get a coat of paint, the construction of the floor was yet to be complete and the approach road had not even been started.
Burdwan zilla parishad sabhadhipati Debu Tudu, who is overseeing the project, insisted that the work was complete.
"We have completed the construction of the single-storied mishti hub which has 15 shops. We have also sought an additional Rs 2.90 crore from the government for its expansion. We will add another floor to the building where 15 more shops will come up," Tudu said.
"We could not organise the inauguration today as the higher secondary exams are beginning tomorrow and we cannot use microphones. We want our chief minister to speak a few words while inaugurating the hub," he added.
Asked why the inauguration was planned when shops were not yet allotted, Tudu said the allotments could be done after the programme. "We have almost finalised the list of traders who will get shops at the hub."
