Temporary markets turn slushy after heavy rain

Coimbatore: The downpour almost made temporary markets on the Devanga Higher Secondary School and Government College of Technology (GCT) premises inaccessible for public on Wednesday, with rainwater stagnating in front of them and turning the grounds sludgy.
K K Ayyappan, trustee, Kovai district flower merchant association, said there was waterlogging at the entrance of the market. “Most part of the ground is filled with sludge. Many shopkeepers have moved to elevated areas of the ground with less sludge. What better option do we have?”
The flower market was moved to Devanga Higher Secondary School premises from Mettupalayam Road, where it was difficult for customers to maintain physical distancing, in June. More than 100 traders have put up stalls on the school ground.
Vehicles waded through the stagnated water to enter the market, which lacked sufficient space to park them. This made the ground more slippery, Ayyappan said. “The business is already dull. Who would come to us if the market isn’t in a good condition?”
Another trader said they were forced to deliver flowers to retail customers at their shops to avoid inconvenience.
The situation was almost the same at the GCT, where vegetable traders have been doing business for the past few months.
When contacted, a city corporation official said, “As soon as we received complaints from them, sanitary officials were deployed to drain the stagnant water and clean the premises.”
In the case of flower market, the civic body is working on to accommodate all the vendors at the new market that is coming up just opposite the existing one on Mettupalayam Road.
Meanwhile, rainwater also entered the temporary shelters that were set up by people who were vacated from the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board’s housing unit at CMC Colony. There are more than 300 makeshift shelters.
Sathish Kumar, a resident, said, “We see waterlogging every time it rains, as there is no proper channel for rainwater to drain out. The ground remains sludgy for days together. Water has entered some houses in the heavy rainfall last night.”
Pointing out that the city corporation had provided them only water connection, he requested the civic body to take necessary steps to construct temporary drains to address the issue of waterlogging in the area.