Chief minister Raghubar Das on Friday inaugurated a vendor market on Jaipal Singh Stadium premises that holds the promise of clearing traffic bottlenecks between Shaheed Chowk and Kutchery Chowk on Main Road.

The CM told vendors that they would run the risk of losing their allotment (shops) in if they were still found conducting business on the roadside.

“It is often seen that despite getting a proper shop, vendors carry out their business by the side of the road. If this happens again, their allotment will be cancelled,” Das said, adding that such a practice will defeat the purpose behind Atal Smriti Vendor Market.

He said a plan for setting up 25 more such markets across the state would be chalked out within three months.

The market, whose foundation was laid by Das on July 31, 2016, has been set up at a cost of Rs 40 crore.

Shop till you drop: Chief minister Raghubar Das distributes allotment certificates to vendors after inaugurating the vendor market on Jaipal Singh Stadium premises in Ranchi on Friday. Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Choudhary, mayor Asha Lakra and her deputy Sanjeev Vijayvargia were also present. Picture by Manob Chowdhary

The 50,000sqft G+4 market has 478 shops on the ground and first floors, 110 offices on second floor, 23 offices on third floor and a banquet hall on the fourth.

It has two elevators and 300 CCTV cameras. Out of 478 shops, as many as 119 shops have been allotted so far.

“Once the market becomes fully operational, city residents will get rid of traffic snarls at least on one stretch of Main Road. The selection of vendors is a challenging task. We along with the town vending committee have completed the process of identifying vendors and allotted 119 shops so far. The selection of other vendors will be completed within 20-30 days,” municipal commissioner Manoj Kumar said.

Nearly 30,000 vehicles cross the Main Road stretch daily.

Vinay Jain, a visually impaired vendor, who got the allotment certificate from chief minister, looked happy.

“I have been selling plastic shoes for the last 28 years. Traffic personnel and administrative officers have removed my makeshift shops several times. Now, I don’t need to be afraid of eviction,” he said.

Local MP Ram Tahal Choudhary, mayor Asha Lakra, deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijavargiya and urban development secretary A.K. Singh were also present at the inauguration.