Mangaluru: Built at a cost of Rs 12.3 crore with funds from Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) and Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC), the Kadri Market here remains vacant and revenue-less nearly a year after completion. The corporation has struggled to attract vendors, and attracted dissent from existing occupants who were shifted from the old market building, leaving the project an underutilised ‘white elephant'.
According to corporation officials, things were moving in the right direction, and the market should see occupancy within a month.
Vijaykumar N, revenue officer of MCC, said that of the 36-odd shops, 17 had been allotted to traders, and merchants, who were earlier occupants of the old Kadri market. The 17 traders have given a letter of undertaking based on which they were allotted the shops 5% above the tender amount since they were not in favour of the tender process.
He said two more floors were tendered and the deposit has been paid by the bidders. "We are in the process of finalising an agreement between the MCC and the bidders, after which the occupancy process should happen within a month," said Vijaykumar, adding that tenders for the last two upper floors will be called within ten days. "We have given notice to the 17 traders who were allotted the shops to occupy it soon," he claimed. Vijaykumar said the first and second-floor bidders were asking for some facilities before moving in, which would be put in place soon.
But the merchants reacted sharply to the revenue officer's assertions saying that they were forced to give the letter of undertaking for 17 shops as the officials threatened that the shops would be allotted to the highest bidders.
"Now, getting shops allotted for 5% price above the tender amount itself, the shop rentals cost a minimum of Rs 24,000 to Rs 30,000 per month, which is high as the area will not generate that kind of business," a merchant said. The traders also said, unless all the 36 merchants/traders who are now conducting business in makeshift stalls are shifted once and for all, they would not move in bits and parts.