Shankar, sixty-three, waits patiently for his next customer behind his roadside ginger-garlic stand at the busy Narayanguda Junction. The empty contemporary market complex behind him was built on the exact spot where his once-famous Kirana shop had stood.
 
Shankar is perceived by his clients as a roadside trader who they can haggle with for pennies, while for drivers he is an encroachment on their territory. However, in reality, he is a victim of a clumsy municipal government. Along with him, some sixty other vendors lost their businesses to make room for a now-abandoned structure.
 
The old municipal market was demolished in 2020, and a brand-new, four-story market quickly replaced it. Many have ended up selling their wares on the streets, despite the authorities' promises to give precedence to those who lost their stores in this new facility, which is still under construction over two years after it was promised.

"I had nothing left when I had to close my business to make way for the construction. lockdown soon followed, so I couldn't make ends meet here, so I returned to my hometown and lived there for four years," shankar said.
 
On 757.89 square yards, the new market was constructed for an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore. To facilitate merchants' loading and unloading of their wares, it features a ramp, a cellar, and a stilt floor. There are around 54 stores with platforms, lights, fans, and storage space—all the necessities for a seller.

By building this structure, the authorities intended to protect their place of business from inclement weather, maintain a clean environment, and stop roads and walkways from encroaching. Regretfully, despite their achievement in constructing their grandiose project, they were unable to realise its full potential.
 
"This is my sole source of income as a single mother. Look at me now, they claimed they would offer us a store in that building. Vegetable vendor Laxmamma bemoans, "I sit here every day and earn an income with which I can barely put food on the table."
 
Vendors claim they are unable to occupy the stores because the market constructor has unpaid debts with the GHMC, despite their repeated trips to government officials.
 
 
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Telangana Hyderabad

SIBY JEYYA

01/07/2024 08:23 AM