Vendors abandon market complex for poor business

SAMBALPUR: The Bhima Bhoi Daily Market at Shantinagar, which was developed by the Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) last year for vegetable vendors, is lying abandoned now. 
The market was developed over an area of about 4,500 sq mtr with concrete platforms and a capacity to accommodate 200 vendors. 

On December 21 last year, the SMC accommodated the roadside vegetable vendors, who were operating along the busy road from Ainthapali Chowk to office of PHED Sub-Divisional Officer, at the Bhima Bhoi Market after evicting them from there. The objective was to clear the busy Ainthapali-Budharaja main road, which is the gateway to the city as it connects both National Highway 6 and State Highway 10, and provide an organised market space to the vegetable vendors.

However, the vendors operated in the market for some months before starting their business on Ainthapali-Budharaja main road again. They claimed that business on the Ainthapali-Budharaja main road is better than in the daily market. They are not only encroaching the road but also acting as impediment to the smooth flow of traffic on the busy route.

Deputy Commissioner of SMC Sudhansu Kumar Bhoi said adequate space has been provided to the vendors at the Bhima Bhoi Market to run their business. They are trying to persuade the vendors to start their business from the market again, he added. 

Park coming up in Rengali

Sambalpur: THE industrial hub of the district, Rengali will get a park with boating facility by March next year. It is being developed by the Sambalpur Development Authority (SDA) over an area of 4.62 acres at the cost of `95 crore. SDA Chairman, Bijay Mohanty said the SDA has also planned to develop a water body on the park campus to provide boating facility to the visitors. Located 25 km away from Sambalpur city, Rengali houses various industrial houses, including Aditya Aluminium, Bhusan Power and Steel Limited, Shyam Metalics and Energy Limited and Aryan Ispat and Power Private Limited.