GCDA market revamp spells tough times for traders ahead of monsoon

Around 20 vendors at the Greater Cochin Development Authority’s (GCDA) market in Kadavanthra are staring at bleak times after being vacated for renovation works that appear unlikely to be completed before the onset of the monsoon, predicted to arrive next week.

Mostly fish, meat, and chicken vendors were asked to vacate over a month ago on the assurance that they would be reinstated before the rains. A majority have since shifted to makeshift shacks outside the market. The renovation, long overdue, includes replacing floor tiles and improving the roof.

V.G. Vincent, a fish vendor who has been a tenant at the market along with six other women vendors, remains anxious about the difficult days ahead during the monsoon. “We are already having a tough time as the summer showers intensify. It will only get worse once the monsoon begins,” he said.

V.K. Abdul Kareem, president of the Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi’s Gandhi Nagar unit, was not overly critical of the delay, though his provisions store is located outside the market. He said the renovation was necessary, but admitted that the work was unlikely to be completed within the agreed timeframe.

With the executive council of the GCDA having resigned following the United Democratic Front assuming office, a vacuum remains. However, GCDA sources expressed hope that the work would be completed within the next couple of weeks. “Traders were relocated after consultations and after being convinced of the need to renovate the ageing market. Along with maintenance works, a sewage treatment plant is also being constructed at the market,” GCDA sources said.