The Koyambedu markets, which were closed in the first week of May after the commercial complex was found to be a source of Coronavirus infection, will be reopened in a staggered manner, starting with the food grains wholesale market on September 18.
Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam had called for a meeting of officials and traders on Thursday to discuss the opening of the commercial complex, which was being pushed repeatedly by the Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders Associations, led by Vikrama Raja.
Earlier in the day, Pannerselvam inspected the renovation and maintenance work going at the Koyambedu commercial complex, along with Housing and Urban Development Department principal secretary Rajesh Lakhani and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority member secretary D Karthikeyan.
A press release from the Deputy Chief Minister’s Office said the vegetable wholesale market would be opened in the second phase on September 28 and the other markets would open one after the other.
Vehicle movement would be strictly regulated in and around the complex. Very few vehicles would be allowed to enter the market one after the other. Entry of heavy vehicles would be restricted from 6 am to 10 pm and all of them should leave the gates by 12 am.
Light Motor Vehicles coming to the market to pick up goods for retail sale outside will be allowed from dawn to 12 noon. There would be no sale of vegetables for individuals in retail and no two-wheelers or autorickshaws would be allowed inside.
All vehicles entering the gates would be sanitized and thermal scanners would be used to check the body temperature of people entering the market. All shops should keep sanitizers for use by the employees and the customers.
Shop owners and employees would be provided with identity cards to ensure that only authorized persons enter the market. No sale of greens or vegetables on the roadside.
Police would monitor and regulate the activities in the market and the services of volunteers would be engaged.
The market would be closed for a day in the week to clean up and santise the premises, the press release said.
The federation office bearers had met the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami once and Pannerselvam twice in the past and demanding the opening of the market since the alternative site given to the traders at Thirumalisai was not fit for business, additional secretary V P Mani told Deccan Chronicle.
They had pointed out that Thirumalisai was situated far away from the city and that there were no facilities for the traders and well as customers. Besides, the premises turned slushy in the rains making the entry of vehicles difficult. Hence the federation was demanding that the government open the Koyambedu complex for business.
