Municipal markets get a supermarket makeover

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) has picked out Navalkar market, in Jogeshwari East, and Borivali Municipal Market for the first makeover

Mumbai If all goes according to plan, visiting traditional markets to shop for fresh produce, may not involve jostling among sweaty crowds. As part of its market redevelopment plan, the civic body has planned a major facelift for municipal vegetable and fish markets, along the lines of western supermarkets.

The design will be a standard template, to be replicated for all other markets (VIjay Bate)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) has picked out Navalkar market, in Jogeshwari East, and Borivali Municipal Market for the first makeover. The markets will be situated in a modern building with in-built fire-fighting systems to avert mishaps.

There will be two separate entrances for vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections, cold storage facility for non-vegetarian goods, wide passages, adequate light and ventilation, toilets, a separate loading and unloading area for trucks, and ample parking space in the basement, from where consumers can take the lift to enter the market.

Architect Shirish Sukhatme who is designing the Navalkar market in Jogeshwari East, said this was an effort to have the spaces emerge into a modern entity from the present slum-like crammed up areas, where vendors often feel claustrophobic due to poor ventilation.

The design will be a standard template, to be replicated for all other markets.

“As all vendors cannot be accommodated on the ground floor an escalator will be installed so that even consumers can move effortlessly. The fish, chicken and mutton shops cannot be mixed with vegetable shops. The ground floor will be allocated to vendors selling non-vegetarian items, first floor for vegetables and second floor for fruits,” said Sukhatme.

It is also the first time that BMC will have a sub-station and a suction tank to fight fire with one lakh litres of water, which can be used to douse fire in the first 25 minutes. There will be sprinkler systems and fire alarms too.

The 10-storey structure in Jogeshwari will be a landmark in the suburb. There will be BMC offices here with three entrances -- one specifically to be utilised by civic ward officials.

Explaining the virtue of splitting up the markets across several floors, Ashish Sharma, additional municipal commissioner, said the civic body is known to face resistance from grocers, fish and vegetable sellers, who do not wish to be accommodated beyond the ground floor.

“If we accommodate all on one floor, the market becomes so crammed that it looks messy. So, we tried to find the minimum characteristics of a good market which will have these features to develop,” he said.

“It is judicious to have one kind of product on one floor to avoid confrontation between vendors. This is one essential design component which will be replicated in all markets, which will have systematic product segregation,” said Sharma.

Maintaining a specific corridor width will be another feature of the market. “The size should be sufficiently large so that people can enjoy coming to the market. Architects have been told to work along these lines,” said Sharma.