Mangaluru: The new, plush market building at Urwa wears a deserted look. The hustle-bustle of the public place is missing here as not even a single shop has been occupied, despite the place having been inaugurated six-months-ago.
The delay in auctioning of stalls by the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) is said to be the reason for this.
The MUDA had spent Rs 11.72 crore for the construction of this three-storey market building with the intention of accommodating all types of vendors. As allotment of stalls has not been done, vegetable, fish, mutton, beef and pork vendors are forced to carry their business on at the temporary market, which is adjacent to the newly built market.
Though the shops have shutters on the front, anybody can enter the building from the basement and walk-up till the top floor. Due to this, the new building has become a den for illegal activities. It is said that a few alcoholics gain entry into the building and use the premises for consuming alcohol. The pile of empty liquor bottles and empty gutka sachets are the proof. If this wasn’t enough, sanitary fittings, ceiling fans and other commodities worth Rs 48,000 have gone missing from the building. A theft case has been filed at Barke police station in this regard.
Mangaluru South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath, responding to this said that the MCC has already sent a proposal to the MUDA to handover the market building to the MCC. Kamath also promised of taking all appropriate measures to allot shops to the vendors and rectify their problems.
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