KOCHI: Lack of proper sanitation facilities has forced a few stall owners to move out of the Ernakulam Market in Broadway. As many as four stall owners, who opened chicken and meat stalls on the first floor of the facility, had to shift to the space in the old market following complaints regarding unhygienic conditions.
“Since chicken stalls and dry fish stalls were opened on the first floor, bad smell from those shops pervaded the building. It is affecting other traders and the customers coming to the market. Thus, we requested the stall owners to shift the items from there to a different location,” said C J George, president of the Ernakulam Market Stall Owners Association.
Seena Gokul, the health standing committee chairperson of corporation, said that issues related to ventilation and waste management have to be rectified to solve the issue.
“We need to ensure cleanliness and neatness in the market. As there is a leak in the pipe and a bad smell emanates from the seepage, we need to identify the issue and rectify it. The Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) has worked on the design and construction. We will hold discussions to find a solution to the issue.”
“A dispute between the stall owners had led to a court case and a stay order. However, the petitioners recently withdrew the case, and the stalls were reopened for the stall owners. However, it is not the right space for chicken and meat vendors,” added George.
There were a total of 213 stalls in the old building. However, the revamped complex has only 183 stalls on the ground floor. As a result, 30 stalls were allocated to vendors on the first floor. Following the allocation of stalls, two vendors approached the court demanding space on the ground floor.
The 19,822.14 sq ft market complex, a long-term dream of the vendors in the market and the public, was opened to the public in December 2024. Designed by CSML and completed at a cost of Rs 72 crore, it has commercial and office space on the second and third floors.
C J Thomas, a social activist, urged stakeholders that a facility like Ernakulam Market must be fully utilised. “When we invest in such buildings and projects, proper waste management, building structure and drainage should be ensured to improve its standards. Leaving the stalls vacant and unutilised will affect the corporation’s revenue generation and the livelihood of several vendors in the city,” he said.
