Traders at Madurai vegetable market demand urgent infrastructure upgrade amid rains

Heavy rainfall over the past two days has not only inundated streets across Madurai city but also flooded most walkways inside MGR Central Vegetable Market at Mattuthavani.

This is a recurring issue, and the traders are concerned about the upcoming month, with heavy rains expected to persist for the next 30 to 40 days.

M. Chinnamayan, president of MGR Central Market Anaithu Vyaparigal Kootamaippu, pointed out that roads were laid when the market was opened in 2010. Since then, no work had been undertaken to upgrade its infrastructure.

It had not only hindered business growth, but had also deterred the public from visiting the market, he added.

“We have met several MLAs and Ministers over the past 10 to 15 years, but no one has offered anything beyond empty promises,” Mr. Chinnamayan stated.

He said the true plight of the traders and the workers could only be understood if elected representatives and administrators experienced hardship firsthand.

“Every day, trucks carrying goods, get stuck in the muddy pathways, workers hauling loads slip, fall and fracture their limbs, and customers find it sickening to enter the market choked with garbage and sludge,” he said.

Officials might view these issues as routine complaints, he said, but who would support the families of the workers if they suffered debilitating injuries. Recalling past policy shifts, he noted that a Government Order was once passed allocating a shared-fund space near MGR Bus Stand to establish a permanent, dedicated vegetable market.

However, that order was scrapped by the previous DMK government and the land was reallotted for a TIDEL Park.

If authorities deemed that land unnecessary for a vegetable market, they should have at least prioritised improving the infrastructure at the current site, he argued.

He also alleged that ever since a new private firm took over waste management for Madurai Corporation, garbage frequently piled up on the market premises.

Due to these dismal conditions, the farmers and the traders from neighbouring districts such as Theni, Dindigul, and Sivaganga are increasingly bypassing the central market.

“They have concluded that spending a little extra money is far better than enduring the ordeal of doing business at this market,” he said.

He emphasised that urgent intervention was vital to improve the conditions and restore the market’s viability.