New market complex at Nellithope still not ready

Eight months after old fish market structures demolished in Puducherry, no sign of new complex construction. Vendors shifted to cramped Poincare Street w/o adequate facilities. CPI & AIYF protested delay. Municipality cited lack of funds. Poor planning evident, govt must intervene.

Even eight months after the old structures housing the fish market at Nellithope were razed for the construction of a new complex, there is no sign of any activity aimed at ensuring the proper rehabilitation of the affected vendors.

Last December, the Puducherry Municipality evacuated around 50 meat and fish vendors at Nellithope to facilitate the construction of the new buildings.

After the vendors were shifted to the nearby Poincare Street, the local body demolished the old buildings in January. The shop owners were assured of a new premises to house their shops within a few months of demolishing the old structures.

“It is almost eight months now. There is no sign of construction activity for a new building. We were shifted to a cramped place without adequate facilities. Our customers are unable to find space to park their vehicles. There are no toilets, and the sheds leak when it rains,” a fish vendor said.

The vendors, with the support of the Communist Party of India, recently staged a protest against the delay in constructing the new complex.

V. Murugan, a resident of Nellithope and an All India Youth Federation activist, said the vendors were evacuated under a false promise of providing new shops within four months of the demolition of their existing shops. They were temporarily shifted to an unhygienic place without proper planning, he said. 

“The requirement in Nellithope is only a few dozen shops. If the government cannot keep its word on building a few new shops, how is it going to fulfil the assurance given to the vendors of Goubert Market? The shifting of the fish and meat vendors from Nellithope has affected other businesses in the market, Mr. Murugan said.