After several months of its inauguration Atal Smriti Vendors’ Market started functioning as hundreds of street vendors opened their shops at their allotted space at the market The market was constructed in order to remove the encroachers from road between Kutchery chowk to Sarjana chowk.
A total of 416 vendors classified under three categories have been allotted space in the market complex. Out of 416 vendors 302 are in the single occupancy category, 102 are in two-in-one category and 12 are in the three-in-one category.
The Ranchi Municipal Corporation conducted lottery system to allot shops in the market to the street vendors according to their category wise. Informing about the process of allotment of shops to the vendors RMC, City Manager, Niraj Kumar said that the vendors have been categorised according to their trade as garment, blanket, leather items, and footwear among others. A lottery has been done according to their categories to avoid any confusion on allotment of shops, he added.
At the first time the civic body received 660 applications from vendors for getting a shop in the newly constructed market. It didn’t not materialize because the town vending committee of RMC which given approval to 448 vendors for allotment of space in the market but after that it decreased the numbers 416 as several were eliminated due to fault in papers such as Aadhar Card, Voter ID and others.
Ajay Kumar Keshri, a shopkeeper who opened his shop in the market said that now they have no fear of police, rain and other problems, which they were facing on the road. But, the sale is down, he added.
Another shop owner of footwear shops Naim Ansari said that finally we have got permanent place for our shop. “In the first list of RMC my name was not shortlisted but in the next list they have included my name. I am very happy and I am thankful to the civic body,” he added.
The building cover a carpet area of 2,94,240 square feet with basements and there are also a banquet hall, a cafeteria, 23 offices, 472 kiosks, 108 shops is the first and the biggest Vendors Market of the State with all State-of-the- Art facilities. Constructed at a cost of Rs. 54 crore granted by the Government of Jharkhand (GoJ) has advance facilities ranging from CCTV cameras, fire extinguishers, public announcement systems, advance parking service, landscaping and fountains have been equipped inside the building for better crowd management and maintenance.