Shukravari Bazaar to shrink as vendors occupy roads

Vadodara: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has decided to reduce the expanse of the Shukravari Bazaar in the Bhutdi Jhampa area of the city. The decision was taken as the market kept expanding over the years and started congesting roads.
The civic body had recently received representations that the market has gone much beyond its earmarked space and encroaches upon roads. Such was the situation that street vendors used to sit on both sides of the road as well as in a single row on its centre.

In wake of the situation, VMC officials and police personnel went to the market on Friday morning and took stock of the situation. It came to light that the road was badly congested. The officials also noted that the vendors had started on a much longer stretch than that wad earmarked for the market.

“They were given the space between a petrol pump and the police ground in the area. But the market started expanding and today it occupies almost double the stretch that was allocated,” said an official.

Ward officer of the area M N Vanzara said that the vendors had been asked to function within the area decided earlier. “If they sit beyond this area, we will have to take action,” he said.

The market has been thriving since decades and it is believed that it has existed since the Gaekwadi rule in the city. The market is a go to place for not only those looking for discarded cheap items, but even for collector looking for artefacts and antiques.

Earlier, the market used to operate from the Fatehpura area of the city. Around 2008 it was decided to move the market to Bhutdi Jhampa as Fatehpura was very congested and prone to communal tensions. There were days when the market could not function at its peak due to the tension.