Sadar Bazar to become free from vehicular traffic for a week

Sadar Bazar — the oldest market in the city — will be completely free of vehicular traffic between February 26 and March 4, as a part of a one-week trial by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), which will take a call on making this a permanent feature based on the response

Sadar Bazar — the oldest market in the city — will be completely free of vehicular traffic between February 26 and March 4, as a part of a one-week trial by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), which will take a call on making this a permanent feature based on the response.

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Established in the 1930s, Sadar Bazar remains heavily congested, with over 20,000 people visiting the market on a weekend. It has around 1,500 shops and 400 street vendors.

Earlier this month, the civic body had announced that a one-week trial of making Sadar Bazar free from vehicular traffic will be executed. However, they had not given any definite timeline for it and had kept the tentative date as February 22-29.Another key decision taken by the MCG is to incorporate e-rickshaws into the trial.

“At least 10 e-rickshaws have been authorised by the MCG to ferry visitors to different corners of the market. Depending on the distance, the fares will vary between ₹5-10,” said Jitender Kumar, joint commissioner, MCG.

Besides making the market vehicle-free, the MCG will clear the streets of encroachments and set up dedicated vending zones for hawkers. Each hawker will be issued a unique ID card. Additionally, streetlights and benches will be installed. Further, green belts will be revived during the week-long trial.

“All the arrangements will be completed by coming Thursday night to ensure that the trial can commence from Friday onwards. We will also be conducting a meeting with concerned stakeholders to discuss and ensure that the remaining features and changes are implemented,” said Kumar.

Kumar said that on Monday, he will be holding a meeting with representatives of Gurugram Police regarding the installation of barricades at all entry and exit points to ensure that vehicles can no longer operate in the 600-metre stretch of the market between Jama Masjid and the Head Post Office. Further, they will also be asking them to deploy a few police officials at these points as well.

Kumar added that, on Monday, he will also be holding an internal meeting with various wings of the MCG, such as the enforcement wing, sanitation wing, and engineering wing for matters related to encroachment, cleanliness, and civil works.

“Depending on the success of the trial, we will take a call on making the changes permanent. We will incorporate suggestions and recommendations of all stakeholders, shopkeepers, as well as Gurugram residents before executing any permanent feature,” said Kumar.

As per MCG officials, privy to the matter, the week-long trial is expected to cost around ₹15 lakh.

During the trial, however, commercial vehicles carrying goods to shops and various warehouses in the market will be able to access the market, during its closing hours, between 11pm and 6am. Further, with a few pockets of residential houses, MCG officials also said that a car sticker system will be introduced to ensure a limited number of vehicles can access the streets of the market. However, the main street will continue to remain pedestrian-friendly.