No takers for Kendrapara vending zone 5 years after completion

Rusted and filled with dust, 34 out of the total 48 iron cabins in a vending zone at Tinimuhani Square in Kendrapara are lying unused even five years after their completion.

In 2021, the Kendrapara Municipality had issued a notification for the distribution of cabins. The applicants were selected through a lottery and it was decided to allot each cabin for Rs 20,000.

However, only 14 traders have deposited the security money, while 34 cabins are still locked. Many cabins are not usable and no one is willing to take them away.

While the Municipality dusted its hands by creating the vending zone, it seems to have never bothered whether there are any takers for this. And if street vendors are not showing interest in taking those, then what is the actual reason behind this.

As per reports, the vending zone made of iron sheets sits just below an 11kv power line. The space inside the cabins is too small and there is no power supply as well.

“We are not satisfied with these cabins at all. These are very small and made of iron. It is almost impossible for anybody to sit inside it during summer. The electricity department has also refused to provide power supply to the cabins. How can anybody sit inside these cabins?” asked a local businessman, Panchanan Sahu.

Another local trader said, “The Municipality had demolished our shops and made this vending zone. We have not been rehabilitated to do our business. These cabins are made with iron and it does not have electricity. They have been rusted and partially damaged. This is the way our Municipality works.”

Meanwhile, the civic body has said that it will soon convene a council meeting to discuss the matter.

Speaking to OTV, Kendrapara Municipality Executive Officer Prafulla Kumar Biswal said, “There are some shops open at the vending zone. We have 48 cabins in that vending zone, out of which 14 persons have paid security deposits for their cabins. We are thinking of renovating the cabins by shifting them some metres back and asking the street vendors to occupy them again.”