Noida: The Noida Authority has set up 17 kiosks in the Sector 18 market to offer affordable space to small-scale retailers. The commercial department is yet to finalise the cost of these kiosks, which would be leased out.
The move, however, has led to protests from shop owners in the market, who claimed that the orange-coloured kiosks would only eat into the walkways for visitors.
Rahul Sharma, the project engineer of Noida Authority, said the stalls were almost ready to be handed out and were aimed at doing away with encroachment. “We have set up 17 kiosks in total. The construction is almost complete and they would be leased out soon. This will also give an opportunity to small-scale retailers to access the Sector 18 market as a business venue. This way, we will also solve the problem of encroachment as these are authorised shops,” he added.
Sharma said if the model was successful, it would be replicated in other market areas as well. “Noida has multiple markets and the problem of encroachment is rampant everywhere. Since there is a demand for affordable retail space, we may open more such kiosks in the city. But first, we want to test the model here in Sector 18. The pricing of these kiosks is being worked out by the commercial department,” he added.
However, members of the Sector 18 market association held a meeting against the move on Monday and also objected to the towing away of vehicles by the Authority’s cranes.
“The idea of renovating the Sector 18 market was to make it an open plaza with broad walkways. The kiosks will only add to the problems. We are also going to stage a protest against the excessive use of cranes to tow away cars. It is causing unnecessary harassment to shoppers and visitors. The footfall here has been suffering because of this,” said Sushil Kumar Jain, the president of the Sector 18 Market Owners’ Association. “We have given the Noida Authority time till 15 days to remove the cranes from here. If nothing is done, we will come out of our shops and stop the cranes by ourselves,” he added.
In an attempt to do away with surface parking in phases, the Noida Authority has imposed strict guidelines to park vehicles around the market. It has earmarked parking zones and anybody found with a vehicle in other areas is being fined Rs 1,000 for four-wheelers and Rs 250 for two-wheelers.