While the facility has 100 shops, only 25 of them are being allotted in the first phase.
While the facility has 100 shops, only 25 of them are being allotted in the first phase.
Seventy-year-old G Raman, a farmer from Pammathukulam, who cultivates a variety of greens, sends his produce to markets in Koyambedu, Villivakkam, T Nagar and a few other places.
He will soon set aside a part of his produce for the Uzhavar Sandhai (Farmers Market) in Ambattur on CTH Road, as the market is set to reopen after a decade-long hiatus.
Raman would actually resume operations at Ambattur Uzhavar Sandhai: he had a rented shop at his Ambattur facility when it was established in April 2000. With Suvidha from 2010, Raman turned his back on it.
Like Raman, farmers from Keelkondaiyar, Karlapakkam, Palavedu, Pandeswaram, Pammathukulam, Lakshmipuram, Sarath Kandigai and Thrimulaivoyal villages will set up shop at the Ambattur facility, which will operate under the aegis of Tamil Nadu Agricultural Marketing and Agribusiness, as do all Uzhavars. across the state.
Under the renovation, the Ambattur facility will be ready for operation in less than a month.
To get protection for the Ambattur facility, the Tiruvallur team of the department has come up with various measures.
“A bus-stop was set up near the market in early June, with the support of Mr Joseph Samuel, MLA from Ambattur. Soon a zebra-crossing will be marked on the CTH road in front of the facility. We are also promoting the reopening of the facility among the nearby industrial units and residents. Ambattur Railway Station is easily accessible through this Uzhavar Sandhi. Hence, an entrance will be made for the station,” says a senior official.
A regular visitor to the market, when it was in its heyday, S Suresh, a resident of Thiruvengada Nagar (a neighborhood near the market), suggested, “Selected traders of the retail market near Ambattur railway station should also be accommodated in the bright evenings. needed. Only indigenous vegetables grown in the surrounding villages are sold there. Vegetables like broccoli and capsicum, which come from far and wide, are sold only by retailers near the railway station. Customers who require both native and foreign vegetables, pass over the Uzhavar Sandhya, and shop at a retailer’s market, which is likely to stock both types of vegetables. It should be ensured that the presence of retail traders does not harm the interests of Uzhawar Sandhai beneficiaries.
T Gunaseelanfrom, a resident of GNG Colony in Ambattur, who was a regular at Uzhavar Sandhai, recalls that the change in business hours was a waste of the old market.
“When this Uzhavar Sandhya was opened, it functioned from 7 am to 6 pm, the market witnessed brisk sales especially in the evening hours, when employees of nearby industrial units and office-goers would go home. were returning. Later the market continued from 11 am to 3 pm. The next setback came when the dedicated buses being run for the benefit of Uzhawar Sandhai beneficiaries were stopped. My suggestion is, the market should be allowed to run till 8 pm, only then farmers will be able to sell all their produce, for which the place should have good lighting. Also, an Aavin shop inside the market would be of great help,” says Gunaseelan.
A new feature in the Ambattur facility is that the department is allotting shops on concessional rent to FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations).
Renovation work is going on at Ambattur Uzhavar Sandhai. Photo: M Vedhan
While there are 100 shops in Ambattur Uzhavar Sandhai, only 25 shops are being allotted in the first phase.
“Uzhawar Sandhai is one of the pet projects of the government and it is being looked at again. To give impetus to the state’s Meedum Manjapai campaign, only cloth bags will be allowed. Plastic covers will have no place in the market,” says Joseph Samuel, MLA from Ambattur.
The newly opened Ambattur Uzhavar Sandhai will function on all days from Sunday to Saturday. Timings: 7 AM to 6 PM It will be open on all government holidays except Uzhavar Thirunal.
The department will convene a meeting in the first week of July regarding the reopening of Ambattur Uzhavar Sandhai. It will be headed by Ambattur MLA. Apart from farmers, police officers of Ambattur will also participate in the meeting. The department invites residents of Ambattur to attend the meeting.
For details, call 77085 41376/94456 90262.