Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, May 6: The Sundarpada-Kapilaprasad haat near the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) has become a cause of concern.
The market, which has around 138 permanent shops and 300 pindis, is largely lying unused for the past 16 years, with vendors setting up 13 temporary chicken-selling booths and 45 mutton and fish kiosks in the land adjacent to the market.
The waste being dumped in the open behind the market by the vendors, in the absence of dustbins, is attracting birds and posing a threat to aircraft safety.
Piles of waste have resulted in a foul smell emanating from the market even as stray dogs dot the market. Besides, the vendors, who say that they had been promised rehabilitation in the market area having waited for 16 years for this to happen.
Despite repeated requests, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also not paid heed to the request of putting dustbins in the market.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has often brought the issue to the notice of BMC municipal commissioner and airport environment management committee (AEMC) chairman and urged them to maintain proper hygiene around the market to keep winged species away. However, little has been done to ensure the safety of civil aviation operations at the airport where more than 20 scheduled and non-scheduled flights operated daily.
The Sundarpada haat is spread across around four acres of which nearly 0.73 acres has been alienated to the roads and buildings department (R&B) to construct a flyover connecting Pokhariput with Sundarpada, Kapilaprasad.
Vendors expressed angst over agencies who have been assuring them that they would be rehabilitated to ensure that their livelihood is affected.
“We had been promised allotment of permanent shops but are still reeling under government apathy. Sixteen years is a long time and we have been hit hard. We are doing business under the open sky and this compromises with hygiene as well,” said a meat vendor Sheikh Nabijaan.
“We are aware of the situation and are taking concerted efforts to renovate the market. Chief engineers of R&B and BDA would carry out a survey to assess whether the buildings are still safe. If needed, the permanent complex would be razed to build a new one,” said BDA assistant engineer (civil-division I) NK Patnaik.
