Some traders say the proposed facelift may not work out given the number of problems in the area; others believe the process will be slow but steady
Some traders say the proposed facelift may not work out given the number of problems in the area; others believe the process will be slow but steady
Close to six months have passed since the Delhi government announced the redevelopment of Gandhi Nagar market, the biggest textile hub in Delhi, but the area is yet to see any concrete change.
Shop owners at the market remain a divided bunch — while some complain that the announcement is yet to reflect any change on the ground, others remain optimistic that the change will be a “slow but steady process”.
According to Balkishan, a shop owner based in the market for close to a decade, the recent spell of rain has resulted in the worsening of existing issues — frequent congestion, improper collection of waste, clogged drains, among others — that the 15,000 traders at the market continue to face on a daily basis.
Last week, a fire broke out at a shop in a four-storey building at the market, leaving one person dead. During a visit to the damaged building, the shopkeepers told Today News 24 that fire tenders could not enter the congested bylanes in the market, which resulted in a delay in controlling the situation.
‘No procedures announced’
“I do not feel it is possible to revamp this market. There are too many issues that have grown worse over the years. We do not know what the revamp will entail; the exact plans and procedures are yet to be announced,” said Mr. Balkishan.
In the Delhi government’s recent budget speech, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had announced that they plan to redevelop Gandhi Nagar which is called “Asia’s largest readymade garments market”. Stating that the east Delhi-based market will be redeveloped into a “grand garment hub”, Mr. Sisodia had said that the redevelopment will lead to “40,000 new employment opportunities in the next five years”. The market’s current daily turnover stands at over ₹100 crore and it provides 1 lakh direct employment opportunities, and close to 3 lakh indirect jobs.
The government’s plans were welcomed by the likes of K.K. Balli, president, Association of Wholesale Readymade Garment Dealers (Gandhi Nagar). Mr. Balli said frequent meetings were held between the market associations and government representatives — including Mr. Sisodia and Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson, Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi. Based on the feedback collected from the shop owners at the market through multiple field interactions, Mr. Balli said congestion, lack of proper roads and civic amenities and haphazard flow of vehicles to load and unload stock were the major issues that he had conveyed during the meetings with the government representatives.
“There were frequent meetings till July. After that, the raids in connection with the excise policy began and the entire process of meetings came to a halt. Currently, we do not know where the plans for our market’s redevelopment stand. I can understand that they must be facing difficulties in focusing on our matter given the frequent raids and other developments. This [redevelopment] project will take some time to pick-up pace,” said Mr. Balli, adding that he has not lost faith in the government’s plans.
‘Mammoth task’
Sharing a similar view, Gurpreet Singh, a shop owner based in the market for 40 years, said he was optimistic about the proposed facelift of the market and that it was a “mammoth task” that had to be studied and then executed.
“I have seen this market go through several changes over the years. There was a time when we had no drains or proper roads. There is no doubt that this market requires a lot of redevelopment and the traders are begging for the change. But it will take time. One has to be a bit patient and optimistic given the haphazard infrastructural state of this garment hub,” said Mr. Singh.
When reached for a comment, the Delhi government did not respond.
