Yashodhara Bangera
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jul 11: There was a time when the market run by Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) here was abuzz with people and activities. Vegetables and other items were traded briskly, and people used to frequent this place to buy what they wanted. However, now this building, located in Ashwathapura, is enveloped by profound silence.

Small and marginal farmers from Thenkamijaru gram panchayat used to conduct trade of the produce grown in their farms at this building. After changes were made in the movement of traffic, the people have leaned towards urban locations of the area, and the very concept of village markets has disappeared. The market place at Ashwathapura therefore, resembles a haunted place, as neither the farmers nor the consumers frequent this place anymore. The building, built seven years ago with the noble purpose of enabling farmers to market their produce without the need to pay any fee, is in a dilapidated state now. As the building cannot to be used for any other purposes towards generating some income, the building, for the construction of which lacs of rupees were used, is no more in use.

This building was constructed as per the demands of the villagers, out of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund grant released by APMC Mangalore. Foundation stone for the same was laid in November 2006, when Krishnaraja Hegde was the president, and it was inaugurated on October 18, 2007. The locals began trading their produce here sometime thereafter, but soon the activity waned. The locals, who were used to the weekly markets organized here on every Thursday, faced disappointment.

The building, which has become orphaned now, has turned into a shelter for street dogs and stray cattle now. The board which has become illegible because of canging seasons and climate, represents the present condition of this building. Dust, cracked cement sheets of the roof, rusted roof beams, shrubs and bushes, have covered this building as mute witnesses to its neglected state. The building, which stands on the path to the panchayat office from Ashwathapura, does not see any visitors now.

When questioned, the concerned are unable to provide satisfactory answers or viable solutions to the current dilemma relating to this market building. When the then APMC Mangalore president, Krishnaraja Hegde, was contacted, he said that the building was handed over to Tenkamijaru gram panchayat after construction. Even APMC office in Mangalore claims that their responsibility ceases once the building is handed over to the respective panchayats. Officials of Tenkamijaru gram panchayat claim that the APMC was approached in 2012, after passing a resolution at the Gram Sabha, to hand over the building to the panchayat, and that APMC was requested to inform the panchayat whether this building can be used for commercial, income-generating purposes. They insist that APMC has not responded to these queries.

Hopes of reviving this building hinge on the decision, once taken by APMC in this regard, depending upon the guidelines provided to it as to whether this building can be used for profitable motives. If the building is handed over to the panchayat, and if it can be used for commercial purposes, the building can come to life again. The villagers insist that this dilapidated building should be put to use by addressing issues and concerns relating to its revival.