Opposition urges Aluva municipality to address vendors’ concerns before new market construction

Kochi: The opposition councillors of Aluva municipality and CPM local committee raised serious concerns regarding the treatment of vendors ahead of the proposed construction of the new market. They urged the municipal authorities to ensure proper relocation and support for the traders.The local body decided to relocate vendors before the construction of a new market project, titled ‘Aluva Angadi', a joint venture between the Centre and the state. The market will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore. Of this, 60% is funded by the central govt, and the remaining 40% comes from the state govt.According to the opposition, the original market structures were demolished over a decade ago, displacing over 120 traders who have since been operating in temporary and often inadequate conditions. "When the existing building was demolished, the municipality collected large sums from traders, charging Rs1 lakh per room. Despite this, the vendors have not received any meaningful support," said Sreelatha Vinod, an opposition councillor.The CPM Aluva area committee also criticised the Congress-led local body's handling of the project, alleging that negligence on the part of officials led to missed financial assistance from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The fund had provisions to support market construction projects by local self-governing bodies, but no application was submitted, forcing the municipality to conduct the constructions with financial assistance from Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, an initiative under the Union ministry of fisheries, alongside financial assistance from Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation Ltd."There are long-standing trade ties between wholesale and small-scale traders in the region. Disrupting this without proper planning could be disastrous," said CPM Aluva local secretary Paul Varghese. "When traders request basic infrastructure and waste management facilities before relocation, the authorities simply tell them to vacate first, with no assurance of what comes next," added Varghese.

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