BENGALURU: The need to maintain physical distance appears to have spurred BBMP into permananetly closing the wholesale market in Kalasipalya and shifting it to Singena Agrahara in Anekal. The decision was taken at a meeting at BBMP office on Saturday, where secretary to the agriculture department Rajendra Kumar Kataria, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner BH Anil Kumar and Hopcoms managing director BN Prasad interacted with heads of Kalasipalya and KR markets association and APMC yards leaders.
“The decision has been pending for the past 10-15 years. I cannot allow a wholesale market to function in the heart of the city, leading to traffic jams and chaos,” Anil Kumar told TNSE. The new market in Anekal will spread across 43 acres with an additional 10-acre parking space. In comparison, the Kalasipallya market was much smaller, with 463 dealers crammed in the two-acre space. Over 600 trucks brought fruits and vegetables to the market every day but the number halved when the government began to advise people to stay indoors. A decision on what is to be done with the Kalasipalya space will be taken later, but for starters, it will be immediately sanitized.
Gopi, president of Kalasipalya Vendors’ Association, said they don’t mind shifting, provided arrangements are made well in advance. The BBMP has assured that it will provide basic infrastructure such as shelters, yards, water and a clean area in the new market. Officials have ordered that stalls be set up with proper demarcations so that minimum physical distance is maintained.
However until the lockdown ends, BBMP will only permit small vehicles such as tempos and auto-rickshaws to transport vegetables and fruits in Bengaluru. However the decision has evoked a mixed response. While some wholesalers agreed, many have sought time and said the decision will further impact business.