Nethaji Market makeover in revised Vellore Smart City plan

He said that the long pending makeover of the Nethaji market for Rs 60 crore “had been altered to ensure that parking was on the ground floor and shops are on the proposed first and second floors as against the original proposal to have parking on the second floor and shops on the ground and first floors.”

Accepting that traders were opposed to the multistoried building idea on the ground that customers would not climb two floors for purchase, Corporation Commissioner Sivasubramaniam said “ensuring quality products will always result in customers coming in search of the shops.

” However, as the Corporation and District Administration had to convince traders who demanded that they be given priority when new shops were allotted, the Chennai meeting was delayed so far. The Nethaji market currently has 752 permanent shops and another 300 floor shops whose owners feared they would not be allotted space when the new building was constructed.

As traders usually defaulted on rent payments, the civic body generally sealed the shops and reopened them when dues were settled. “Traders feared that the local body might use this opportunity to see that they are not allotted shops,” a trader seeking anonymity said.

Pointing to the two-storied MP Sarathi Mansion which abuts the Nethaji market, an official said, “both floors witness footfall of more than 2,000 daily as customers climb up and down in search of what they need.”

Similarly, the Rs 10 crore project to makeover the new Bus Stand with bus parking on the first floor was also changed, Raman said. “The Chennai Smart City project team which visited the site and tested the soil informed us that as the facility is located on the Palar river bank, the soil would be unable to bear the weight of the structure and hence bus parking will be on the ground floor with passenger amenities on the first floor.”

“Once the consultant approves the alterations, the project will proceed to the Detailed Project Report stage,” Raman said. Asked about traders’ fears of not being allotted shops, he said, “it is a local issue which can be sorted out at the appropriate time.”