BENGALURU: After Chief Minister D K Shivakumar paid a surprise visit to the APMC yard in Yeshwantpur and personally heard problems there, traders in Chickpet have now extended an invitation to the CM to visit the area and get to know about the problems there first-hand.
Chickpet is located in the heart of the city and is a major trading centre for decades. Thousands of people visit Chickpet, nut main roads have been dug up in the name of work. Even after seven months, road work not completed.
At first, the authorities said the roads will be asphalted and then they said it will be white-topped. But what remains for traders are potholes, dust and disorder. Since last seven-eight months daily movement itself has become big problem for traders. Customers are hesitate to come to shops and vehicle movement is also affected, traders lament.
Chickpet has got Metro connectivity which has made it convenient for people. But after coming out of the metro station, there are no proper roads, drainages or streetlights. Traders are demandiong that the government, which talks about Greater Bengaluru development, should consider the problems of Chickpet also seriously. Traders allege there is concern of safety at night also.
“Chickpet was built by Kempegowda, the founder of Bengaluru. The roads are narrow and the area is mainly a business centre and generates the highest taxes. The roads are in a bad condition for the last six to eight months. Traders have to pay rents and pay salaries of employees apart from their own families. At this rate, we will have to shut down business. There are no streetlights and thefts are increasing. We request Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to visit Chickpet and resolve our problems”, said Anand, of the textile traders association.
Chickpet is not just a market, it is one of the major trading centres of South India. The government also gets huge amount of tax revenue from trade here. But due to delay in road work, lack of infrastructure the number of customers is reducing and business is declining, allege traders.
