'Khan Market plan unfeasible'

The traders of Khan Market have decided to ask the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to make some significant changes in its "unfeasible plan" that proposes the installation of collapsible ladders on the rear walls of the first floors and shifting the air-conditioners to the rooftop.

The traders of Khan Market have decided to ask the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to make some significant changes in its "unfeasible plan" that proposes the installation of collapsible ladders on the rear walls of the first floors and shifting the air-conditioners to the rooftop.

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The traders met on Wednesday and decided to send the list of changes they want to the council later this week.

"We will distribute pamphlets among shop owners so that they are kept in the loop," said Sanjiv Mehra, president of the Khan Market Traders Association. He described NDMC's plan as flawed and one that can threaten the safety of the very structure it proposes to save.

Earlier, Bhure Lal, the head of Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) had called the proposal a 'recipe for disaster that must be rejected outright'.

The NDMC this year had introduced a redevelopment plan for Khan Market which is mainly concerned with the beautification of the market place and some changes to the buildings.

According to traders, the roof of the market is already full of cylinders and water tanks, leaving no space for the installation of ACs. They are also opposed to the plan of providing a storm water drain in the service lane and have demanded that collapsible ladders be installed in the front part of the buildings.

A senior NDMC official said the plan was decided after prolonged deliberations and weighed in all options.

"There is no fire safety plan in the market so the main idea is to make the market safer," he said.