KMC146;s Park Circus market renovation plan faces opposition

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation8217;s plan to renovate the Park Circus market through public-private partnership have run into rough weather due to resistance from the traders as well as the Left Front partners.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation8217;s KMC plan to renovate the Park Circus market through public-private partnership have run into rough weather due to resistance from the traders as well as the Left Front partners.

The KMC plans to renovate the dilapidated markets in need of urgent repairs. The KMC has 22 markets under its jurisdiction, most of which are in a pathetic condition. So far, the civic authorities have taken up the renovation of three markets 8212; Gariahat Market, Lake Market and College Street Market.

While Gariahat Market has been re-opened after renovation, work at the Lake Market is near completion. Work at College Street Market is also underway.

It is only the Park Circus Market where all efforts of the KMC to win over resistance have ended in a fiasco.

After the Left Front-led civic body came to power in 2005, a decision to renovate dilapidated municipal markets under the public-private partnership scheme was mooted. Two major markets 8212; College Street and Park Circus municipal market 8212; were chosen for a facelift through private partners 8212; Bengal Shelter and Housing and Reliance Retail Private Limited respectively.

Three partners of the Left Front 8212; Forward Bloc, RSP and CPI 8212; resisted the renovation work at Park Circus Market.

The tenants at the market were also apprehensive that Reliance will open their retail outlet there. They were assured that Reliance will not start a retail business, which can harm their livelihood.

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The traders demanded a written assurance from the civic authorities that they will be brought back to the new market within a stipulated time period.

Girindra Pal, Joint Secretary, Park Circus Market Byaboshayee Samity, said that traders at Gariahat and College Street had also entered into an agreement with the KMC at the time of renovation of the markets.

8220;What did the traders get? The traders at Gariahat have been dumped in such a building, which is devoid of all civic amenities. Shops handed over to the traders were not appropriately located and hence not conducive to business,8221; said Pal.

8220;The traders of College Street are also suffering a huge losses as Marcus Square, where they have been rehabilitated, is in a precarious condition and not at all suitable for running a business. They are also clueless as to when they will be brought back to the new market premises,8221; he added.

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Relocating traders of the Park Circus Market is also a major concern for the civic officials. While KMC wants the traders to move to the nearby Park Circus Maidan, traders want to relocate to a portion of the road near the market.

Till date, no solution has come out of the meetings held between the KMC and the traders8217; association in this regard. 8220;It is not a problem of relocating the traders or not complying with their demands. It is the communication gap between people and us. From these projects, we have learnt that we should have built a strong public opinion before carrying out any developmental projects in the city. We need to increase public interaction,8221; said Kalyan Mukherjee, Deputy Mayor, KMC.

Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, however, denies that there was a communication gap between the civic body and the people.

8220;Our developmental projects have been deliberately hampered. All the issues have been politicised. I will start a project to renovate the Park Circus Market when the market collapses naturally,8221; he said.