Swanky fish market soon in Hyderabad’s Begum Bazaar
Stinking Begum Bazaar market to make way for clean and hygienic space by December
Hyderabad: Grimy, stinking and slushy, with lack of space making it a suffocating experience too, the Begum Bazaar fish market has never been a pretty sight. But now, the Nizam’s era market is undergoing a major facelift, with a clean and hygienic space being created by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
The new building that will house the market, once the hub for all seafood sales in the city, is expected to be completed by December. It was not just the lack of space or dirty surroundings that plagued the market. There were other issues like inadequate water supply, faulty power supply and most importantly, the absence of a proper parking space for the hundreds of customers who thronged the market, especially during the weekends.
The complaints were not just from visitors, who had to fight the stench and step gingerly through muck to buy fish, but also from shopkeepers and vendors, who said they were facing severe health issues because of the unhygienic conditions they had to do business in. It was taking into consideration all these factors that the GHMC began constructing a new cellar plus three-floor building with over 9,000 square feet of space.
Photo: Anand Dharmana
There will be sufficient parking space in the cellar for visitors and for vendors to get their stocks unloaded. More importantly, the structure will be equipped with two passenger elevators, fire and life safety systems, a walk-in freezer and ice flake machine as well.
The total cost of the project is about Rs 9 crore and is being taken up by the GHMC and the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB). The work got delayed a bit due to the coronavirus pandemic but has picked up pace now. The target is to complete the works by December, a GHMC official said.
Giving in to long-pending demands from fishermen societies in the city, the NFDB had sanctioned funds for constructing the new market, which, apart from fish vendors, also houses meat and vegetable vendors. The old and dilapidated market, which still has a few vendors conducting business, has been identified as a heritage structure though taking up renovation and restoration works has to be approved by the Archaeology Department, the official said.
Shopper’s delight
- Cellar for parking
- Nearly 200 stalls
- Two passenger lifts
- Fire and life safety system
- Walk-in freezer for cold room
- Ice flake machine
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