Chief Minister Raman Singh inaugurated the Sardar Vallabhai Patel wholesale market spread in an area of 6.06 hectares in Dumertarai area near the city on Sunday.
The wholesale market has been jointly developed by the Chhattisgarh Housing Board (CHB) and Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) within a period of three-and-a-half years.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also announced approving Rs 90 crore for construction of a four-lane road from Pachpedi Naka to Dumertarai.
Addressing the traders, Singh said that the development of business and trade in any country or State leads to increase in revenue of the government. The government uses the funds to increase the resources for development and betterment of the people.
‘The people related to business and industries of Chhattisgarh have played an important role in development of the State.’
The Chief Minister handed over the keys of some shops to the traders to mark inauguration of the market and said that wholesale market will help the traders in doing business with ease. “This will also reduce traffic pressure in the city,”he said.
Singh assured the traders of developing the market with facilities such as ATM, bank, police outpost, primary health center, etc. Presiding over the programme, Member of Parliament Ramesh Bais said that shifting of wholesale market outside the city was planned for long to reduce the traffic pressure in the city.
He appealed the traders who have been allotted shops to start doing business in the new market from Diwali onwards.
PWD Minister Rajesh Munat said that the market has been developed considering all aspects for a systematic trading.
He congratulated the officers and employees CHB and RMC and labourers involved in construction work for the achievement.
Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal said that Raipur has developed into a big city and is a Business Centre. “The traffic has increased manifolds and traders of the city were facing problems in transporting goods due to heavy traffic,”he said.
“Thus the Chief Minister decided for developing the wholesale market outside the city. He ( Chief Minister) hopes that the new market will prove convenient and facilitate the businessmen in their operations,” Agrawal said.
Mayor Kiranmai Nayak, MlA Shrichand Sundarani, MlA Satyanarayan Sharma and Jitendra Barlota also addressed the gathering.