The civic body’s plan to convert a few playgrounds into vegetable and fruit markets did not take off on Saturday on account of logistical problems. The first day of the initiative was marked by miscommunication and chaos at Shankarapura after wholesale traders from the Kalasipalyam market started shifting their produce to the National College Grounds under the impression that they had been granted permission to do so by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). This misconception arose after civic officials reached out to the merchants to discuss the merits of a relocation.
According to sources in the BBMP, the decision was not final and no arrangements were made for the move. However, several merchants thought the matter was settled and started moving their produce on Friday night itself. BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar said talks on shifting the market were still in progress at the time and nothing had been agreed upon. “In the meantime, without any communication and permission, they all of a sudden shifted to National College Grounds,” he said.
As word spread, hundreds of residents and retail buyers thronged the ground, throwing any semblance of maintaining social distancing to the wind. The rules of the lockdown in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic were forgotten and hundreds of vehicles were parked outside the ground while the police watched helplessly.
All the wholesalers were finally evicted around 11 a.m. by the BBMP, after residents and elected representatives intervened. D.N. Ramesh, councillor, Sunkenahalli ward, said the chaos was created because of mismanagement and miscommunication from wholesalers and civic officials. S. Manjunath, of Shankarapuram Residents’ Welfare Association, urged the authorities not to shift entire markets to grounds located in residential areas as it would defeat the purpose of social distancing and the lockdown. “If only retailers and pushcart vendors are allowed in, then the Fort High School Ground will be a better option,” he said, adding that the National College Grounds should not be converted into a wholesale market.
New location
The BBMP finally decided to shift the Kalasipalyam wholesale market to Singena Agrahara in Anekal taluk. “We have assured the merchants that arrangements for a temporary market will be made at Singena Agrahara, with all the precautionary measures, from Monday. We have asked licensed wholesale merchants to shift there as soon as possible,” a BBMP official said.
The BBMP Commissioner said there were 423 licensed wholesale merchants operating out of the two-acre Kalasipalyam market, with hundreds of trucks and lorries, and thousands of retailers, pushcart vendors and even residents visiting every day. “Hence, social distancing is impossible there. At Singena Agrahara, there is a 43-acre plot available, with a fruit market already operating from there,” he said.
