Wholesale vegetable traders seek permission to sell vegetables at Thirumalaiyamaplayam in Coimbatore

A section of wholesale vegetable traders in Coimbatore have sought temporary permission from the district administration to sell vegetables at Thirumalaiyampalayam.

According to M. Rajendran, president of the Coimbatore district Kalaignar wholesale vegetable traders association, about 85 wholesale vegetable traders purchased nine acres at Thirumalaiyampalayam panchayat almost four years ago to develop a modern wholesale vegetable market under public private partnership mode.

They also developed a few basic infrastructure facilities at the site and submitted a plan to the Directorate of Town and Country Planning for approval.

They were hoping that the area, classified as agricultural land will be recognised as commercial land in the revised master plan that was released recently. However, the classification is yet to be revised.

Meanwhile, the Highways Department is continuing works to build a flyover on Mettupalayam road near the Saibaba temple and hence, traffic is diverted to alternative routes for three months. The MGR market, which is the main wholesale vegetable market in Coimbatore is located on Mettupalayam road and heavy vehicles cannot enter the three-acre market now.

Vegetables sourced from Karnataka or the Nilgiris and sold to Kerala used to be transported from MGR market. In the recent years, a lot of this trade has moved to Oddanchathiram.

With vehicles unable to enter the market for at least three months, wholesale vegetable sales is likely to be hit. Hence, the district administration should grant at least temporary permission to the traders to start selling from the nine-acre land at Thirumalaiyampalayam, he said.