THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much-touted heritage street project at the 400-year-old Chalai market in the capital, modelled on the SM street in Kozhikode, is likely to be shelved as the fund allocated for the project by the state government for the 2016-2021 tenure has lapsed due to the delay in the project’s execution.
The delay was caused by frequent opposition from the traders in the market. Though the architect G Sankar’s Habitat Technology Group, which is the implementing agency, wrote to the Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas and Tourism Director to review the project months ago, nothing has happened further.
The Group had redesigned the project as per the requirements of the traders in a meeting in November last year. Since then, no meeting has been conducted pertaining to the heritage street project.
Sources said that the city corporation has also done nothing in this regard, and this project will likely be shelved. G Sankar told TNIE that he had approached the state government to revive the project, but the government had yet to respond to his request.
“I have redesigned the project. I have also submitted it to the corporation. But there was no development, either from the corporation or from the government. So I have written to the tourism minister and tourism director. However, the project has come to a standstill,” Sankar said.
When contacted, S Salim, Welfare Standing Committee chairperson, city corporation, said that he was not aware of the present status of the project. “It is learned that the traders of the market are opposing it. But I am not aware of the project’s status,” he said.
Fund lapse
According to Corporation secretary Binu Francis, the funds allocated for the project have lapsed, and the project could be revived only after mobilising funds for it again.
“The fund of over Rs 10 crore was allotted when Kadakampally Surendran was the tourism minister in the previous tenure of the state government. However, a delay has occurred, and the funds could not be utilised on time. So the fund has lapsed now. Now, the ball is in the court of the state government to ensure fresh funding for the project,” Binu said.
Flagging space constraints, the traders contend that the new market could not rehabilitate all vegetable vendors as promised. Adding to their woes, the interconnection of the roads at Chalai proposed to be renovated under the smart road project under the Smart City Mission has also been dropped due to the termination of contracts owing to inefficiency and deadline lapses. Sources associated with the Chalai project reveal that only 10 per cent of the work has been completed so far.
The project was launched amid much fanfare in 2018 and promised to incorporate a variety of features to make Chalai a commercial and tourist destination. As per the plan, the first phase was to see the renovation of the vegetable market, the construction of a walkway and amenity centre, and the installation of two traditional gates at East Fort and Killippalam. However, the vegetable market renovation is the only work that has been executed so far.
Revival soon
Meanwhile, a top official of the state tourism department said that efforts were underway to revive the project.
“It is true that the project has come to a standstill due to the opposition from traders, as they demanded a proper rehabilitation from them while developing the meat and fish market. Also, many components of this project are part of the Smart City Mission project. Since Smart City is not a stakeholder now, the project hits a dead end. However, the government is taking measures to revive the project by resolving the disputes,” the official said.
As per the plan, the heritage street would have wall graffiti showcasing the commercial hub’s history. Benches and flowers, too, would be added to the roofed walkway.
The entry to the market from the Gandhi Park side will feature a gateway modelled on the lines of the East Fort gate. A similar gate will be constructed on the Killipalam side as well. Another highlight will be a statue of former Travancore diwan Raja Kesavadas, proposed to be installed at Aryasala junction.
Overall, for the heritage project, the Union government’s Smart City programme sanctioned `16 crore, and the state tourism department earmarked Rs 10 crore. So far, only Rs 5 crore has been spent, mostly on renovating the vegetable market.