Four years after building a new agricultural marketing yard on the outskirts of the city, authorities finally managed to shift only 40% of traders from the old yard in Yeshwantapur to the new one. While this has eased traffic around the busy Yeshwantapur area, traders who are not happy with the facilities at the new yard are planning to build their own yard.

The Department of Agricultural Marketing developed an alternative market in Dasanpura so as to meet the increasing demand for space, besides decongesting the busy Yeshwanthpur area. The market at Yeshwanthpur, a trading place for vegetables, onions, potatoes and groceries, is one of the largest agricultural markets in south India.

Though the new market was ready in 2014, traders resisted following apprehensions about the distance — it is 18 km from Yeshwantapur — lack of facilities and losing customer base.

V Rajanna, additional secretary at the Yeshwanthpur APMC confirmed that his office began the exercise of shifting merchants to Dasanpura in mid-January. “Thirty percent of merchants have already shifted and another 30% of them will shift by April, he said.

Both, traders who have shifted to the new market as well as those remaining in Yeshwanthpur, are unhappy with the new yard. We have been allotted shops haphazardly. Ideally, they should have created separate lanes for onion, potato and garlic merchants. Haphazard allotment does not instil a sense of competition, said a merchant who did not wish to be named.