JOIN USThe BBMP-owned Krishnarajapuram (KR Puram) market, one of the biggest in the City, is in a shambles due to poor maintenance and lack of proper amenities.
Shopkeepers and visitors to the market spread across five acres have to bear with uncleared garbage, drains filled with muck, unhygienic toilets and all-pervading stench. The dismal condition has been persisting for more than five years, claim the traders.
The bustling market attracts hundreds of farmers from various parts of the State like Hassan, Mysore, Hoskote and Chikkaballapur. They arrive at 8 in the night and stay till early morning when they sell vegetables and fruits to buyers, the traders said.
“There are 112 shops and living here is a struggle. The civic agency has not been collecting rent from shopkeepers and the market is not cleaned regularly. Every day, the market generates around five tonnes of garbage, mainly wet waste. However, only one tonne is lifted and the rest is dumped in drains in and around the premises.
There are just three to four pourakarmikas to pick up the waste,” said Ravi V, a trader.
The traders rue that women face a big problem as there are no proper toilets.
“We have to shell out money for using the toilets. While women shell out Rs three, men have to pay Rs five. Also, there is no drinking water facility. We all get our own bottles from home. Despite complaining and writing letters to the BBMP, no action has been taken to improve the situation,” said Lakshmi, a flower vendor. Recently, the traders held a protest against the Palike and the garbage contractors.
“Palike spends more than Rs one lakh every year and invites tender for garbage disposal at KR Puram market. We do not understand where the money goes and why the garbage crisis persists here?,“ said Yele Srinivas, president of KR Puram Market Association.
Palike sources said they are collecting rent only from traders who actually stay inside their shops. But most of them stay on the footpaths in the market premises.