BENGALURU: Street vendors and farmers who come to the city to sell their goods at KR Puram Market will soon get shops allotted to them at new market that will be constructed by the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA).
MN Srikanth, corporator of Devasandra, said, “The BDA has sanctioned Rs 48 crore for the construction of a new market. Behind the KR Puram Traffic Police Station, a space of 4.8 acres has been handed over by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The existing building will be demolished for the construction of the new market.”
There will be 58 shops on the ground floor, two common halls on the first floor, 68 shops each on the second and third floor and, 34 on the fourth floor. Encroachment on the road, footpath and at the entrance of the skywalk is another issue in KR Puram, which is expected to be resolved once the new market becomes functional.
Vedaprakash, the contractor hired, said, “There will be five floors and a basement for parking. About 228 shops will be made available and 101 cars can be parked in the area. But the space won't be as big as the KR Market building, on the basis of which the new market is being modelled. There will be a common hall as well.”
As per the area statement and proposal, the fourth floor will have a dormitory, kitchen and dining space. “The project has been approved. Some paperwork and clarifications by the BDA is pending. Once the project starts, it will take 20 months to complete. It should be ready in one-and-a-half-years for vendors to occupy,” Vedaprakash added. The 160 vendors, who are registered with the BBMP, have ID cards and sell their produce at the KR Puram Market every day, and will be allotted space immediately.
Newcomers will have to approach BDA for allotment. Yele Srinivas, president of KR Puram Market Association, said they already have a list of vendors who need space in the building, and new vendors have started approaching them too. “A proper building for vendors will be helpful, like that in malls. Malls have proper facilities for people to sell their products. We will finally have something like that.
Vendors won't have to sit on the roads anymore. The road won’t get crowded or be blocked either,” he added.