Bengaluru's Malleswaram flower market set to open; promises modern facilities for vendors

Bengaluru: Nearly a decade after work began, the Malleswaram flower market is set to open soon, with the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) planning to finish construction within the next two months.

The market will house local fruit and flower vendors, but features a mall-style design. Vendors will operate from the ground floor, while the first to fifth floors have been developed as a mall. Once construction is finished, the BDA plans to hand over operations to a management company through a tender process.

“All vendors will be allotted shops on the ground floor, which can accommodate 188 vendors. From the first floor upward, the building will have a mall-like design. A tender will be issued to appoint a property manager to handle operations,” said a senior BDA official.

The lower and upper basements together can accommodate 323 cars. The BDA has constructed a multi-level car park beside the market, with space for 280 cars. “This will solve the parking problem in Malleswaram. It can provide parking for 600 cars," the official added.

However, vendors said the delay in completing the project had affected their business, and many had shut shop owing to losses.

“We were told the work would be completed in two or three years. However, for 10 years they have kept pushing it. Since the market closed and we moved out, footfall has decreased drastically, and many vendors closed their businesses," said Shanthamma, a flower vendor.

The project, planned in 2012, could not start until 2015 owing to delays in vacating vendors. Although work was to be completed by 2018, contractor disputes and Covid lockdowns delayed progress, BDA officials said.

The new market will host local fruit and flower vendors on the ground floor while the first to fifth floors have been developed in a modern mall style.

“Now, except for the front elevation, ramp work, and some final touches, almost all the work is complete. We need statutory permissions from Bescom, the pollution control board, and fire safety department. All of this will take some time, and we hope to finish by the end of January 2026," said another BDA official.

The initial project cost was pegged at Rs 132 crore, but delays have escalated it to nearly Rs 150 crore.