Small and medium traders on the 89-year-old College Street Market of Kolkata have suffered 80 per cent loss of business as the College Street Mall is not ready yet.
The 89-year-old College Street Market, spread over 12.5 bigha, used to be home to around 1,200 shopkeepers, selling books, apparel, grocery etc.
Relocated from College Street to Marcus Square in Kolkata to make way for the country's first integrated book mall, Varnaparichay, many of the 1,200-odd traders who shifted have not only lost business in the past 16 months but their health, too.
According to Bimal Nag, president, College Street Market Byaboshayee Samity (CSMBS), the association of College Street traders: "We are suffering heavy losses at present with daily sales decreasing by almost 80 per cent. Moreover, the unhygienic conditions that prevail in the relocated market at Marcus Square is affecting the health of both traders and buyers."
Samity members claimed that on an average, the 1,200 shops at the College Street market did sales of anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 each daily.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) assured that the market, which is currently under renovation, will be ready for use within the scheduled deadline of August 15, 2008.
However, traders alleged that 17 months have already passed and the private developer has completed only 15 per cent of the renovation work.
The Rs 250-crore mall, foundation stone of which was laid in February 2006, was supposed to be ready in 18 months. Traders who used to operate out of College Street Market, including big players like Sreeleathers, Khadims and Indian Silk House, have threatened to go on strike and hold demonstrations if they are kept in the dark about the actual progress of the Varnaparichay project.
According to Mahesh Singhania, chairman of Federation of West Bengal Trade Associations, "The College Street Market traders employed 9,000 more. After moving to Marcus Square, around 3,000 traders had to be asked to leave as the traders were not making enough money to pay their salaries."
"Morever, KMC has increased the rent by 50 paise per square feet, although it knows what a sad state we are in. KMC is collecting around Rs 20 lakh as rent every month now," claimed Samir Pal, general secretary of CSMBS.
The Samity said Marcus Square was in a dilapidated area with no provision for drinking water and sanitation because of which few buyers visited Marcus Square.
"We had said that it would take 18 months from the time we got full possession of the site. The last of the traders left only two months ago," said Samar Nag, the managing director of Bengal Shelter, which is constructing the mall.
KMC mayor, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, said: "I have no idea of the present status of the work being carried out in the market. I will enquire into the matter."
Varnaparichay, as the mall is to be called, is expected to be a one-stop shop for books and the first of its kind in the country.
A joint venture between the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the West Bengal government, the mall will be located in the old College Street market.
The idea behind Varnaparichay was to bring together publishers and buyers, book shop owners and bibliophiles from all over the world.
Devoted primarily to books, the eight-storeyed mall is expected to set aside 20,000 square feet to accommodate 1,200 displaced tenants of the College Street Market who have been temporarily housed in the nearby Marquis Square.
An advantage of Varnaparichay, its architects point out, will be the availability of ample parking space, something that has been a perennial problem on the College Street.
"We plan to provide space for as many as 1,000 cars," said Atanu Chakrabarty, architect at Prakalpa, the firm designing the mall.
