Smart City works hit KR Market traders the hardest

With the Smart City works progressing at a snail’s pace, vendors at KR Market said the project has hit their businesses very hard.

Works carried out by the Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BenSCL) blocked the market’s main entrance leaving no parking space for customers, while the shoddy work on the first floor has left the ceiling leaking.

“We were promised that the work would be completed by November. But we hardly see any work happening now,” said G M Diwakar, president of the KR Market Flower Merchants’ Association.

Several works are pending completion and the ones finished have been done haphazardly, vendors said.

“We temporarily closed the shops to allow them to complete all the pending work, expecting that the facilities would be improved. But, instead, we were disappointed to see that the ceiling of many of the walkways and a few shops leaking every time there is a light spell of rain,” said Asif Pasha, who owns a heavy metal shop in the market.

Shop owners said they turn off the power supply during rainy spells fearing accidents.

Vendors also point to a 50 per cent drop in footfall at the market. “Most of the customers buy items in bulk and prefer to park the vehicles in the basement. Also, with no proper entrance to the market, vendors are unable to unload items into their shops,” Diwakar said, adding that the pending works block the way for customers to enter.

300 owners shut shop

Asif said the problems forced nearly 300 owners to shut shop. “We were just recovering from the Covid-induced losses and these pending works have made the recovery nearly impossible. We are struggling to make a decent profit,” he said.

BenSCL officials said contractors are complaining about theft of materials and other hurdles. “Since (the market) is an old building, there are expansion gaps that must be filled. Therefore, the leakage,” said the BenSCL engineer overseeing the project.

After missing several deadlines, BenSCL is expected to complete the work by September.