KR Market: A picture of all-round neglect

Vasudha Zora NT

Bengaluru: The historic Krishna Rajendra Market, popularly known as KR Market, falls within Ward No 139 of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). It is one of the largest wholesale market in the country and deals with almost every essential for the whole of Bengaluru.

The market sells fresh produce of vegetables, fruits and flowers and operates early in the morning with hundreds of autos and transport trucks collecting the fresh stock of the day to distribute in the rest of the city. The area also constantly reeks of rotten fruits and the footpaths are often strewn with fruits and vegetable remnants.

The other side of the market houses various types of wholesale products such as clothes, mobile accessories, vessels, handbags, toys and many more. The market is also well connected with bus and metro links. Ward 139 has a population of 28,514, comprising 14,982 men and 13,532 women, and is always humming with activity due to a huge floating population.

The major issues include traffic congestion, garbage pile ups, presence of many dilapidated structures and a high crime rate. Shahina Patel, a resident of KR market said, "The market is constantly bustling and is jam-packed. There are no regulatory measures taken for parking the BMTC buses and the traffic control is very poor.”

She observed that the roads “are always under construction and most of them are dug up”. Though the authorities claim such works are integral for better management, it blocks traffic at the end of the day, in addition to lack of street lights, she said. The various street corners and major lanes of KR Market remain neglected and the air quality is very poor.

Most buildings in this ward are dilapidated and date back to many decades. Some of them are still occupied despite the safety hazards they pose. The pedestrian subway in the area remains a black spot with garbage strewn all over. There are is no proper garbage or waste management units or dust bins in the vicinity and the regular patrolling by the civic body is almost unheard of.

News Trail contacted the associated civic body and found that such intervention have stopped due to various priority projects that are being carried out. They will resume one they are over, however the authorities failed to provide any timeline. The market has hidden tiny trails which pass through neighborhoods.

These areas struggle to maintain cleanliness. Many of the residents here live in extreme poverty and many are forced to defecate out in the open. Though there have been drives time to time to encourage the residents to use public toilets available in the vicinity, but the condition of these toilets are pathetic.

Manjunath, a daily wage worker, said, "I prefer to urinate on the streets rather than use the public toilet facility because it is in such a poor state." The ne glect shown by the authorities has rubbed off on the local residents’ civic sense. They too show little care about keeping the surroundings clean.

The most prevalent crimes in the area have been burglary and selling of counterfeit items, according to the KR Market Police authorities. "Many petty thieves live in the area and we are aware of their operations. We do patrolling regularly on bikes as the market is jam packed. We also station patrolling car near the bus stand and other connecting points round the clock."