Noida: The words ‘weekly market’ conjure up images of jostling crowds in the mind of most people living in the NCR. The ‘Wednesday market’ in Sector 78 used to be like any other weekly market in the region – streets packed with vendors, vehicles and shoppers. Not any longer.
Vendors and residents of Sector 78 have come together to create a model weekly market with the help of the Noida Authority.
They said the vegetable and fruit market in Sector 78 that used to operate from the main road only on Wednesdays, caused inconvenience to many. The vendors would be sitting in all directions with no space for the movement of vehicles, they complained.
The residents said they had written to the Authority to get the market organised.
“We realised that the market was necessary but also causing trouble. We had to do something about it. I had seen such clean organised street markets in Indore and it seemed doable for us with some coordination,” said Shiv Bhardwaj, a resident of Golf View Apartment.
The residents are from four housing societies in Sector 78 — Mahagun Moderne, Hyde Park, Antriksh Golf View 2 and Assotech Windsor Court.
The market was stopped for two weeks and restarted this Sunday, shifting it from a weekday to a weekend.
Along with the market association, the residents allotted one side of the road for vendors, leaving the other side for parking. There were 122 vendors who set up shop this Sunday.
“We trained the vendors on how to maintain sanitation and ensure personal hygiene as well. We also gave them a basic dress code to follow so that there appears to be some uniformity. Now, we will also get them registered so that they have identity cards and boards with shop numbers,” said Vinod Namdev from weekly market association.
Every vendor was asked to ensure that they have a dustbin. They were told not to use any plastic bags. The completely plastic-free weekly market will have to continue for the coming Sundays as well.
Also, all 122 shops were checked by Noida Authority officials this Sunday and only two were seized for carrying plastic bags.
All vendors were also given masks, gloves and t-shirts with “Swachh Noida” printed on it. The vendors association also deployed two sanitation workers as guards to ensure that the traffic movement and parking was smooth during the market timing.
Residents said the new organised weekly market looks much neater, cleaner and is more convenient for shopping.