HYDERABAD: The problem of shifting the Gaddiannaram fruit market from its present location is back to square one. Now, the government is looking at Victoria Memorial playground at Kothapet, or Koheda village, besides Batasingaram, as an alternative. The government had recently tried to shift the market to Batasingaram, but its efforts hit a roadblock with the fruit merchants moving the High Court, complaining of lack of facilities.
The High Court then set October 18 as the deadline for the creation of necessary facilities to shift the market to Batasingaram. The government wanted to shift the market from Gaddiannaram as it wanted to build a super-speciality hospital there, and it is keen on grounding the work as early as possible. Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao gave a direction to explore alternative sites to shift the market after AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, speaking in the Assembly, requested the government to reconsider its decision.
Accordingly, Ministers Md Mahmood Ali (Home), S Niranjan Reddy (Agriculture) and P Sabitha Indra Reddy (Education) got into a huddle with AIMIM MLAs Jafar Hussain and Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala, who urged the Ministers to consider Victoria memorial playground (Victoria Memorial Home) at Kothapet. But the officials concerned told them that all facilities had by then been created at Batasingaram.
Another proposal came up for relocating the market at Koheda village, and till the time all required facilities come up there, the market may be shifted to Batasingaram. Later, the Ministers tentatively decided to use two sites of the Logistics Park in Batasingaram for the market, on a temporary basis. The three of them will visit the alternative sites discussed at the meeting on Monday and take a decision on the issue.