Blaze sparks Siliguri market renovate call

TT - 05 Dec 2018, Siliguri: Traders in Siliguri have sought help from the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) to take initiatives for renovating Bidhan Market, the largest marketplace here, following a fire on Sunday in which four shops had been gutted.

Sourav Chakraborty, the chairman of the SJDA, is scheduled to hold a meeting with members of Bidhan Market Byabsayee Samiti on December 19 to discuss plans for overall renovation of the market.

"The traders have been asked to attend a meeting in the SJDA office on December 19 and submit their proposals so that we can chalk out a plan to develop it," Chakraborty had said after his visit.

At present, there are over 3,800 shops at the market, spread over seven acres.

SJDA sources said five years ago, an initiative was taken by former NB development minister and SJDA chairman Gautam Deb to rebuilt the market in a planned manner Tarpaulins being removed from a shop at Bidhan Market in Siliguri on Tuesday. Picture by Passang Yolmo but a section of traders had opposed the idea and had demanded that the market complex should be built as per their convenience and without changing the existing position of their shops.

"That is why the project was shelved then. But this incident of fire seems to have acted as an eye-opener for the traders who now want the market to be rebuilt in a planned manner," said a source.

Bapi Saha, secretary of Bidhan Market Byabsayee Samiti said: "The basic infrastructure is poor in the market. There is hardly any drainage system. The roads are narrow and electrical wires hang precariously throughout the area. It is necessary to carry out a comprehensive development of the market. We too have some suggestions which we would like to place at the proposed meeting in SJDA." On Tuesday, Nantu Paul, a senior councillor of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, visited the market and spoke with the shop owners. He asked them to maintain proper electrical wiring and also refrain from using tarpaulins and similar inflammable articles at their shops and stalls.