It was a big day for Vinay Jain, a visually impaired person who has been facing troubles putting his small shop at the busy Kutchery Road since 1990. Like Jain other 126 street vendors who have been identified as the beneficiaries under Jharkhand Street Vendors Law, 2017 in the first phase to get well furnished space with advance facilities inside the mega marketing complex – Atal Smriti Vendors Market – expressed their gratitude towards the State Government for this much needed separate and permanent establishment for the street vendors.
The ambitious project of Department of Urban Development, Housing and Planning which began on July 31, 2016 in association with Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) was inaugurated by Chief Minister Raghubar Das in the presence of Ranchi MP Ramtahal Choudhary, Mayor Asha Lakra, Deputy Mayor Sanjiv Vijayawargia, Secretary Department of Urban Development, Housing and Planning, Town Commissioner Manoj Kumar including other dignitaries here on Friday.
The structure (G+5) that covers a carpet area of 2,94,240 sq feet with basements, a banquet hall, a cafeteria, 23 offices, 472 kiosks, 108 shops is the first and the biggest Vendors Market of the State with state-of-the- art facilities. Amenities ranging from CCTV cameras, fire extinguishers, public announcement systems, advance parking service, landscaping and fountains have been equipped inside the building constructed at the cost of Rs 54 crore for better crowd management and maintenance.
The CM while addressing the gathering remarked that the vision of the State Government is to take the facilities to the last person of the society.
“Besides ensuring uniform urban expansion of the cities required for the growth of the State, the Government here is focusing on the fortification of the underprivileged. By 2022, the streets of Jharkhand will be encroachment free as the State Government has expanded the project of vendors’ market construction to a few other cities as well,” said the CM.
“Few big projects will roll out in the days to come in Jharkhand taking the State towards a new direction. The officials have been instructed to identify around five new sites for construction of vendors market. Localities like Harmu, HEC, New Market, Morhabadi are a few areas were the work of constructing two-storey prospective Vendors Market buildings will be undertaken soon,” the CM added while urging to the ward councilors to work with a proper plan for the development of their respective wards.
