Encroachments demolished at Netaji market in Vellore town to improve access for people

Encroachments, mostly extensions of the existing shops, and temporary structures inside the British-era Netaji Wholesale Market complex, located opposite the 16th-century Vellore Fort complex, were removed by the Corporation on Thursday to provide easy access for those visiting the facility.

Corporation officials said that the 1.5-acre wholesale market has 736 shops, including 282 retail outlets. The market was built in 1868, two years after the Vellore Municipality was established in 1866. “With the festival season, the demolition drive was aimed at providing more leg space for consumers to walk easily inside the market complex,” S. Venkatesan, Assistant Engineer (AE), Vellore Corporation, told The Hindu.

Special teams were formed by the Town Planning section of the civic body to demolish illegal structures in the market after A. Catherine Saranya, Corporation Commissioner, received numerous complaints from residents about the increasing number of encroachments. “Such demolition drives should be done regularly to prevent traders from extending their shops into the walking area in the market,” said R. Prema, a resident.

Corporation officials said that illegal temporary structures, holdings, and extended portions of the existing shops were removed. The civic body issued prior notices to traders, asking them to demolish such illegal structures on their own before officials razed them on Thursday.

Officials said that most of the illegal structures occupied at least three feet of the narrow stretches inside the market complex. On an average, each street in the market measures 16 ft wide. As a result, many consumers, especially women, found it difficult to walk safely on the narrow stretches, resulting in congestion, especially during evening hours.

Local historians said that the market got its name after office bearers of the Vellore Town Vegetable Merchants Association decided to name it after the freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose in the 1960s. The market is a lifeline for residents within Corporation limits that covers 60 wards with a population of over 10 lakh persons. 

Every day, on an average, 80-100 lorries from neighbouring States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra come to the market to unload essential items.

Corporation officials said attempts to rebuild the market with modern facilities failed after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declined to give NOC as the market is located within the 100-metre prohibited area of the fort complex, a protected monument, under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASAR), 2010.