Puducherry MP seeks intervention of President in preventing demolition of Goubert Market

Puducherry Member of Parliament V. Vaithilingam has sought the intervention of the President of India in preventing the territorial administration from demolishing the Goubert Market complex on J. N Street.

Puducherry Member of Parliament V. Vaithilingam has sought the intervention of the President of India in preventing the territorial administration from demolishing the Goubert Market complex on J. N Street.

In a letter to the President on Thursday, August 3, 2023, the MP said the decades-old Goubert market, spread over 2.90 acre houses around 572 permanent shops and 400 temporary outlets.

Under the Smart City project, the administration plans to construct a new market here at a cost of ₹53 crore. The new market would be constructed after demolishing the existing shops. As per the government plan, the shops would be shifted to a temporary site on the on the Anglo French Textile (AFT) mill grounds. The traders are against the move to demolish the market and their shifting them to the AFT grounds.

Traders of Goubert Market have been protesting against the government’s decision to raze down the market complex, popularly known as ‘Periya Kadai’.  Last week, leaders of various political parties including the Congress, DMK, CPI, CPI (M), and VCK, courted arrest while staging a protest against the eviction of the traders from the market.

The MP suggested that the government could consider constructing a new market complex on the premises of the defunct AFT mill complex. The mill stopped functioning almost 10 years ago, he said in his letter. “We can construct a new market at the sprawling space. That will surely benefit the public as well as the vendors. Creating a fresh market complex will also help in preventing traffic congestion in the existing market area,” Mr. Vaithilingam said in his letter.

Once the new complex comes up at the AFT premises, willing shop owners could be moved there. The government could then take up repair work at the existing Gourbet market, the MP said in the letter.