Kolkata: More than three-and-a-half years since the plan was first mooted, all 528 Maidan Market stalls have shifted to the new structure built for traders, taking a step closer to the construction of Purple Line’s Esplanade station.“For construction of the Esplanade metro station, temporary shifting of unauthorised 528 shops at BC Roy Market on defence land was required. The proposal for NOC of temporary shifting of market was submitted in Feb, 2022,” a PIB release said.A team of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) officials inspected the old market building on Saturday afternoon. “All 528 stalls have shifted to the new structure, located to the south of the old market building. But we still have the keys to the old market building and keys to individual stalls with us. Some formalities are yet to be completed. We will hand over the keys only after all promised amenities are provided to us,” said Kishore Manglani, secretary of the stall owners’ association of the market.Manglani said RVNL was cooperating with them, but the promised amenities were yet to be completed.The old market building will be demolished for the construction of the station to begin. Only 7.7 km of Purple Line, between Joka and Majerhat, is operational now. This line is planned to span 26.8 km and end at Eden Gardens.Traders of BC Roy Market, also known as Maidan Market and famous for selling sports goods, started to shift from Oct 15. The stall owners conducted their 72-year-old Durga Puja inside the premises of the newly built temporary structure.Many customers went to the old market building on Saturday and found its gates closed. They were then redirected to the new structure. A payloader was working on the lane separating the old and new market structures. “The main gate of the new address is yet to be complete,” a trader said.
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