Mangaluru: The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) yard was built over an 80 acre land at a cost of Rs 30 cr at Baikampady, but even after about two decades of construction of this infrastructure, the premises still remain unoccupied and largely under-utilised.

Only a few traders have been functioning from this setup. The entire yard now looks like a jungle and even the APMC building has accommodated luxuriously growing vegetation, lurking from the terrace.

Buildings, roads and drains including other amenities have not been maintained, though the purpose of developing the APMC yard was to shift 500 traders from commercial hub of Bunder area. The yard was proposed and land was procured when, Dakshina Kannada remained undivided.

A meeting was convened by the district administration, at the 18 year-old Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) yard located at Baikampady on Tuesday, May 24, presided by District in-charge Minister Ramanath Rai in the presence of Abhay Chandra Jain, Minister for Fisheries and Youth Empowerment, Moideen Bava, MLA, and A.B.Ibrahim Deputy Commissioner.

The purpose was to make sure that the building could be put to best use, encouraging the traders to shift to the location, which is close to the city and also to the Port.

Ramanchandra Rao, APMC Secretary mentioned that at a cost of Rs.11 crores which was borrowed, a concrete road has been built in the yard and Rs.1 crore is yet to be repaid.

The elected representatives who went around the yard saw for themselves as to how only few traders were using the yard. Most traders hailed from Gujarat and were trading arecanut.

The traders have been running their business under fear and uncertainty. The infrastructure at the yard has not been maintained and now with the onset of monsoon, they say that their areca and other stock may be lost as there are all possibilities of water gushing into their shops as the drains have not been cleaned.

Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, President Rammohan Pai Maroor suggested a meeting in the chamber should be called for all the traders. The notification of Bunder as sub yard may also be withdrawn after a decision is made to shift to APMC yard at Baikampady.

A trader at the Yard said that the State Government had issued a notification on April 27, 2007, according to which trading in agricultural produce anywhere other than the new yard was illegal. However, he was of the opinion that no trader should be forced to move to the yard and also requested that if the government can consider and hand over the entire APMC yard to traders who will form an association, promising positive changes in the yard within six months.

Truck Terminal

DC A.B Ibrahim was of the firm opinion that a truck terminal if created in the APMC yard would relieve the congested Bunder area. A drawing of a Truck Terminal proposed was also shown to the ministers by Joint Commissioner for Transport and Managing Director, D.Devaraj Urs Truck Terminals (S) Ltd (Transport department) C. Mallikarjun who was the RTO in Mangaluru. Mallikarjun said that it is advantage for traders to have a truck terminal within this huge yard.

Stadium here!

At the fag end of the meeting Moideen Bava, MLA who joined the meeting suggested that since it is a difficult task to convince the traders to move out of Bunder and run business in the APMC yard, the sprawling yard land could be converted into a cricket stadium!

It is mentionable that the Baikampady APMC yard was one of those in the State with “all infrastructure”.