MATTANCHERRY: Located on the Western part of the city, Mattanchery was once a major landmark of Kerala. Its streets buzzed with vendors, earning it the tag of a trade hub. But, today Mattanchery is a ghost of its former self. The collapse of trade and boom of tourism affected the region. Many heritage monuments and the Baazar are on the verge of dilapidation. Adding to the woes are various development and infrastructure issues like slum rehabilitation. Today, Mattanchery is more or less a drug hub where cannabis and ganja are available in abundance.
The region still reels under the aftermath of the trade collapse that happened decades ago. The decline of trade prospects then forced many vendors to switch their jobs.
The godowns built across the 1.5-km stretch to store grains, spices and other items, have all been converted into handicrafts and antique shops. The remaining ones were converted into resorts and rest houses for tourists.
“The owners started renting the godowns to antique shops expecting a better income. They can easily earn lakhs because the foreigners were ready to pay a lot for the antique items,” said Harris, a loading labourer.There are few godown here and most of them are used to store grains. However, the future of these godowns too are very bleak. Jabbar, another labourer, says: “In the next two or three years, there will be no godowns. Our job is at stake. We get paid properly for the work we do. But, the problem is there is no work. When we divide the amount we get amongst the 40-50 of us, we get hardly anything”.
The increasing number of malls and other big shopping centres in the city have also affected the business in the this area.
Meanwhile, P A M Ibrahim, district president, Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi told ‘Express’ that the business era of Mattancherry has come to an end. “The brisk business was affected by the rogue behavior and negative attitude of labourers. The big godowns which were one the landmarks had to be shut down due to lack of business,” he said.