THE project of shifting kirana market from the congested lanes of Itwari and Maskasath to a new spacious location at Chikhli (Deo) in the outskirts of the city seems to have been testing the patience of the kirana merchants and the citizens, too. The project conceptualised in the year 2002-03, is still pending because of one of the other reasons. The project was proposed to give respite to the merchants and the customers who face hardship because of space constraints in Itwari and Maskasath area. In 2004 the State Government had allotted a piece of land to the existing occupants of Itwari and Maskasath. It was expected that the occupants would develop the new market at the earliest possible. However due to some disputes, the merchants could not acquire the land for about 16 years. Finally, in November 2020, the merchants’ body - The Nagpur Itwari Kirana Merchants Association - officially did the registry and took the land in their possession. Later on the merchants took time to reach a consensus on the design of the proposed project.

 

In May 2022, the proposal of building the market with an investment of Rs 225 crore was finalised and submitted to Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) for approval. Now the project has received fire and pollution clearances but it is still pending with the NIT. Shiv Pratap Singh, President of the association, told The Hitavada on Wednesday that all formalities were completed and the work is expected to start very soon. However, Singh added that the association is yet to get the final approval from the NIT. The proposed market will have a spacious parking space, broad internal roads, a space of at least 1,000 square feet area for all the 665 occupants and other modern amenities. It is important to note that the existing kirana market in the Itwari and Maskasath area lacks all such facilities because of which merchants and even the customers are suffering. It is one of the oldest markets in the city, the lanes are narrow leaving no space for vehicle parking. The new location at Chikhli (Deo) is at a distance of about 3.5 km from the existing ItwariMaskasath area. It is in the vicinity of the Kalamna market yard and thus the merchants have no fears of losing the customers.