Merchants oppose plans to raze and upgrade Coonoor Municipal Market

Merchants in Coonoor oppose municipality's plan to demolish historic market due to financial, logistical, and environmental concerns.

Merchants at the Coonoor Municipal Market have voiced their opposition to the Coonoor Municipality’s plan to raze the more than 150-year-old market. The merchants, who claim they are still reeling from the losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the steep increase in rent initiated by the municipality around a decade ago, stated that they will not allow the Coonoor Market to be destroyed in the way that the Ooty Municipal Market has been.

Speaking to The Hindu, S. Rajan, who runs a vegetable shop at the market, said more than 800 shops are located in the market area. “The claims that they can earmark an alternative location for our shops itself is flawed, as there is no space to accommodate so many merchants at the Uzhavar Santhai,” said Mr. Rajan, who said that merchants at the Udhagamandalam Municipal Market (which has already been demolished), were suffering from poor business at the alternative site provided by the Udhagamandalam Municipality. “We feel that we too will face a similar fate if the demolishment plans come to fruition,” he said.

Similarly, Mohammed Ibrahim, whose family has been running a general provisions shop at the market since 1957, said that the plans unveiled by the municipality to build a parking facility and shops on higher floors after razing the market are simply impractical. “The market itself is located on the side of the Coonoor River, which means that constructing heavy multi-storey structures could lead to landslips,” he said.

Several merchants who have had shops at the market for decades state that if the plans to raze the market are followed through on, they would not be able to recover financially. They also state that the market, which dates back to the late 1800s, needs to be preserved for its historic value. “There are portions of the market still standing which was built by the British. At a time when the Nilgiris is losing all of its historical buildings to neglect and development, the market at least needs to be preserved,” said Mohammed Nazar, Vice President of the Coonoor All Merchants Welfare Association.

Local historians state that while most of the original British-built buildings within the market complex have been demolished in the decades following independence, that the overall layout of the Coonoor market remains roughly the same.

“One of the reasons for the plan to undertake reconstruction of the market area is due to the lack of parking space in the surrounding areas,” said an official from the Coonoor municipality.

However, the merchants state that there are already alternatives available that would not require the municipality to raze the existing market. “There is an old, abandoned cinema theatre nearby, which can easily accommodate a few hundred vehicles, while building a platform over the Coonoor River, which cuts through the market area, can also help alleviate any parking problems,” said ‘Best’ F. Vinoth, Secretary of the merchants’ association.