Redesign plans for meat market on display at Rangoli Art Centre

Proposals to redesign Bengaluru’s iconic meat market will be open to public viewing between July 2 and 4 at the MG Road Rangoli Metro Art Centre.

Over 20 professional architects, urbanists and students have created the designs at the viewing, organised by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Institute of Urban Designers India (IUDI).

“All the designs are focused on retaining the heritage buildings in the area. We believe it is possible to preserve our history while revitalising and upgrading facilities,” said Dr Meera Iyer, researcher, and convenor at INTACH’s Bengaluru chapter. “Five design groups were formed, out of which three will be presented at the venue,” she added.

To ensure a transparent process, the proposed designs were put to discussion with shop owners and meat vendors on June 25. Vendors complained that transparency was missing form the previous redevelopment attempts.

Earlier this year, building occupants were issued eviction notices with plans to resettle them in the main KR Market building. Vendors resisted the attempts saying it would wreck their businesses. They also objected to the demolition of the main building.

Designers aimed to refurbish the market’s layout without disturbing the vendors too much. They will present their proposals on July 2, followed by a panel discussion featuring Smart City officials, the BBMP and shop owners’ representatives. “We will take all possible inputs from the proposed designs if they are feasible and functional,” Smart City chief engineer Vinayak Sugur told DH.

“The whole project has to be revamped and therefore, we can’t give a specific timeline. We will try to get things moving fast at the earliest,” said assistant executive engineer Alaganathan H.

The designs are open for public viewing from 10 am to 7.30 pm at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre’s Belaku Hall.

A bit of history

The historic meat market building, located adjacent to the KR Market, had been marked for demolition in 2019 as part of the Smart City project.

The proposal came under review after shop owners raised objections.

To support citizen involvement in preserving the city’s heritage structures, INTACH and IUDI organised an initiative for architects, designers, and students to come up with plans for its proposed redesigning and renovation.