A busy day at the Mahanti Fish Market in Vijayawada. The market is a source of employment to around 300 people, including retailers, wholesalers and workers. Established in 1943, it is a go-to market for seafood in Vijayawada.
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI

On a hot afternoon, workers and sellers at the cramped and cluttered Mahanti Fish Market in Vijayawada are busy with their tasks, be it sorting, washing and chopping different kinds of fish, prawns and other seafood.

With afternoons not being the busiest, sellers squeeze out a few minutes from their work to talk about the recent developments at the market. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has once again put forth the proposal to relocate the famous market from its current address of Besant Road.

According to sources in the corporation, the shifting is being done to address traffic issues caused by the loading and unloading of vehicles at the market, which has reportedly become a cause of inconvenience for the public. Also to ensure safety of the people since the structure enclosing the market, established in 1943, is in a dilapidated condition, the VMC has proposed to shift the market to Vambay Colony.

However, the VMC proposals have not been received well by retailers in the market, who find themselves at odds with the wholesalers. While the wholesalers are in support of the proposal, the retailers say that this will affect the livelihood of 300 families.

P. Mahesh, a 42-year-old retailer who has been here for two decades, said that it is unfair on part of the corporation to consider the market’s relocation because of the traffic issues.

“When the market started, there were no shopping malls on Besant Road. There was no traffic either. Why should we be blamed for the traffic woes on Besant Road?” asked Mahesh, who is also a member of the VMC Retail Workers’ Sangham. Before he entered the business, his mother was running a stall here.

“Many of us here are not educated. As a kid, I used to carry lunch boxes for my mother and stay at the market all day. I have spent most of my life here. If the market is shifted from Besant Road, I will lose all my customers. Why would anyone come to Vambay Colony, which is 10-15 km away from their places, to buy one or two kilograms of fish?” Mahesh questioned.

Another retailer, Chanti, who has been in the business for three decades, said that since Besant Road was close to the bus stand, people from nearby towns also came on weekends. The overall business on weekends touches ₹50 lakh and on weekdays, it is around ₹10-₹15 lakh. He said that around 300-500 people visit the market in a day. Mahanti is the go-to market for seafood in the city, and goods come here from Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam.

Comprising of 147 members, the retailers are of the opinion that the wholesalers, who come close to 40 in numbers, can relocate if they want to, however, they do not wish to be part of it. “The wholesalers do not have anything to lose. Even if they shift to a far-off place, their business will be good,” says Chanti.

Meanwhile CPI (M) leaders have also raised objections to the proposal. CPI (M) leader Ch. Babu Rao, in a statement, said that the area where the market has been proposed is a residential spot. Moreover, people in Vambay Colony, Payakapuram, Ajith Singh Nagar have been demanding a bus stand for a long time. The leaders also demanded the withdrawal of the proposal.

According to the VMC, the market associations have asked for more time to discuss the issue.