Tiruchy’s Gandhi market relocated, heavy vehicles banned to ease traffic

Commemorating the visit of Mahatma Gandhi who had visited Tiruchy at least for five times, Rathinavel Thevar invited Gandhi to lay the foundation stone of the Gandhi Market and was opened by Gandhi himself on Prabhva Year, around 1927. A stone tablet which is still at the clock tower opposite the market is witness to the historic event.

In due course of time, the Gandhi market, that was situated in the heart of the city on a sprawling 25 acres with over 1000 retail shops and around 500 wholesale shops, chocked the city with heavy traffic which gave a tough time to the people travelling from various parts of the city and also via Thanjavur. Thus the decision to shift the market and convert it into a multi-storeyed building as a part of the smart city programme. A 10-acre land was identified at Kallikudi at Tiruchy-Madurai road in Srirangam constituency and as many as 840 shops were constructed with a total cost of Rs 77 crore.

However, the traders and the public opposed the government’s decision of shifting the market as it was far away from the existing location and was inaccessible.

Though the Kallikudi market was opened 10 months ago through video conferencing by the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, the traders showed no interest and it became non-operational. Meanwhile, the district administration had swung into action and the district collector K Rajamani had recently announced that the Kallikudi market would be operational from June 30 and also announced that the heavy vehicle entry would be prevented to the Gandhi Market. The vehicles were stopped from Friday midnight with the support of a heavy police force. 

On Saturday, the Kallikudi market started functioning with the ministers Vellamandi N Natarajan and S Valarmathi along with MP P Kumar inaugurating it. Minister Vellamandi Natarajan who inaugurated the vegetable and fruit shops in the market, said, the market relocation is an inevitable change towards the development of the city. All the shops in the Gandhi market will be relocated and the area will be used for Smart City Mission.

Meanwhile, around 300 traders who were willing to move to the new market were allocated shops by a randomised selection. But only a few had actually moved to the complex on the first day.

The Tiruchy District Collector K Rajamani said that lands in the neighbourhood, 3 acres and 5 acres in area, were available for waste management and heavy vehicles parking based on the demand. He also welcomed suggestions from the stakeholders and promised to do his best to implement them.