Onam stalls to be set up at major railway stations in Thiruvananthapuram

Kochi: There is happy news for commuters. The Railways is set to put up ‘Onam stalls’ at six major stations in the Thiruvananthapuram division starting from August 16. “The kiosks will have traditional Kerala materials related to Onam such as handlooms, handicrafts, flowers and cut and packet vegetables. The tenders have already been floated, and the stalls will remain open for a minimum of ten days and a maximum of one month,” said V. C. Sudheesh, chief commercial manager, Thiruvananthapuram division.

The stalls will come up at Thiruvananthapuram main entry (up to three) and the second entry (three), Chengannur (two), Kottayam (two), Ernakulam Jn (five) and Ernakulam Town (five). The official said the aim was to make maximum use of vacant spaces at stations and facilitate commuters buy them on the journey without wasting time to visit shops elsewhere.

“If the novel initiative is found to be a success, we’ll operate such stalls during festive seasons such as Sabarimala pilgrimage and Christmas among others offering relevant materials,” the officer said. There are no eligibility criteria for participants, and even startup ventures can bid. However, the successful bidders while operating the stalls should ensure that the sale and exhibition would not cause any difficulty to passengers. The restrictions include a ban on hawking or use of loudspeakers, avoidance of any activity that makes the station premises untidy.