PM Modi's flagship Night Bazaar project faces demolition
2
Varanasi: The Night Bazaar, a flagship project launched by PM Narendra Modi in his parliamentary constituency, is being vacated just three years later due to alleged irregularities and non-compliance with contractual obligations.
The Varanasi municipal corporation has taken action to shut down the market.
On Wednesday, 25 shops were vacated in Varanasi's Night Bazaar, and the municipal administration issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the remaining shop operators to vacate the premises.
The night market came into existence under the Lahartara-Chowkaghat flyover as part of the Varanasi Smart City project on July 7, 2022, when PM visited the city to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development initiatives worth over Rs 1,800 crore.
It was developed with the aim of showcasing Varanasi's art and culture in a vibrant night-time setting. The market came up in a 1.9kM stretch under the flyover, featuring thematic wall art, public amenities and spaces for recreation.
The Varanasi municipal corporation terminated Shreya Company's contract to operate the Night Bazaar due to non-compliance with specified standards and condition violations. Despite notices, shopkeepers failed to vacate, leading to the corporation's decision to vacate shops and label them as illegal.
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According to officials, there were reports of several unethical activities taking place under the guise of the night market from Cantt Railway Station to the bus station, and the non-compliance with standards led to widespread filth and obstruction of traffic in these areas.
After the 48-hour deadline given by the municipal administration, action will be taken to remove all these shops, they said.
On the instructions of municipal commissioner Akshat Verma, the encroachment department and enforcement team personnel of the municipal corporation, led by additional municipal commissioner Sangam Lal, assistant municipal commissioner Anil Yadav and enforcement team in-charge Colonel Sandeep Sharma, vacated 25 shops located in the night market from Andharapul to the bus station on Wednesday.
The municipal administration faced opposition in vacating the shops.
An announcement was made on-site by the municipal administration that all remaining shops must be vacated within the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, former vice-president of Varanasi Cantonment Board, Shailendra Singh, urged the PM and UP chief minister not to shut the market. In his letter to the PM, he said that his (PM's) dream project initiated for the dignity and self-reliance of the poor has turned into a nightmare for those people.
The night market started to provide respectful employment to street vendors is now being dismantled due to the negligence of the administration and private agencies.
The poor took shops from the agency, paid rent and electricity bills on time. But now, they are being ordered to vacate their shops.
He said" The poor were just trying to make a living. How would they know what's happening between the agency and the municipal corporation? This is not just a failure of a plan; it is the murder of the dreams of the poor." He demanded a thorough investigation of the night market to take strict action against the guilty agency and negligent officials.
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