Mangalore: It is learnt that the MCC has set its sights on a Rs. 35-crore 5 story commercial complex to be developed under a public-private partnership to replace the existing 17 year old  Kankanady Market, that is leaking and has several other problems .

The traders occupying space there have represented on these problems to MCC officials and Corporators for several years now, but to no avail. The MCC is not keen on repairs, rather they are now going full steam ahead with the commercial complex proposal

Ali Hasan, president of Kankanady Market Traders Association said that,” We are against this proposal. We have seen what has happened to Bejai and Jeppu markets which have been stalled for years. What will we do for our livelihood till then?  he asked.

He said that the corporation should refurbish the market by providing outlets for flood water, laying inter-locking tiles for parking and replacing non-functional gates.

The major concern, he said, was the leaky roof and the subsequent stagnation of water that drips through for days. “It pours inside the market and it gets flooded when it rains. There is no place on the corridors for us to sit during this time. We lose our customers and time to sell during the monsoons,” said Sujatha Putran, who has been hawking fish there for more than a decade. She said her business gets halved during the monsoon as “no one wants to” enter the market. The sentiment is echoed by around 12 fish sellers there.

Vegetable and meat vendors, find that their the “hole-in-the-wall” shops are insufficient to store their wares and they “are forced to encroach” onto the narrow corridors. It is a common sight at the market.