Land previously identified to set up Ammaa Markets near the Poonamallee High Road and at Thiruvanmiyur are now being used to dump tree debris left by the cyclone. Open spaces near the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board office and another opposite the National Institute of Fashion Technology were among the first spaces to be picked for the launch of the weekly budget markets. These are now part of the 54 open spaces earmarked, a few days ago, by Greater Chennai Corporation as temporary dumping spots for the fallen and chopped trees. The spaces finalised for the market were big enough to accommodate 50 shops, parking, food stalls, children's play area, power supply back-up, toilets, and station an ambulance and fire services.
The corporation is using this measure to cut long trips made to the landfills, thereby increasing the trips to clear trees from the roads. Private institutions and residents have also been urged to use these spaces to dump their garden waste. Since plans for the market were not going to take off anytime soon, the civic body decided to use the large open spaces for speedy clean-up work in the aftermath of a disaster, said an official. "This measure is only for a few days across the city. After people and companies take the wood they want and after we clear all the roads, this tree load will be cleared from all the 54 spots and taken to the Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yards," and an official said.
Ammaa markets, an initiative of former mayor Saidai Duraisamy, did not open in September as planned. Officially termed the All Manufacture Material Available Avenue (AMMAA), the scheme required extensive coordination with the involvement of over 40 government departments, agencies and societies. TOI reported in October after civic polls were suspended and the model code of conduct was lifted that the much-anticipated bazaars were likely to be on hold. The corporation had planned to open the first market in the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's RK Nagar constituency, but with her prolonged ailment since then, officials had not initiated any paper process.
The weekly bazaars were to sell all groceries, provisions, lifestyle products, furniture and other essentials in prices quoted by manufacturers or sellers. But paper work for official approval has not been sent to the state government for approval and there is no confirmation on when the project will be revived.
The corporation is using this measure to cut long trips made to the landfills, thereby increasing the trips to clear trees from the roads. Private institutions and residents have also been urged to use these spaces to dump their garden waste. Since plans for the market were not going to take off anytime soon, the civic body decided to use the large open spaces for speedy clean-up work in the aftermath of a disaster, said an official. "This measure is only for a few days across the city. After people and companies take the wood they want and after we clear all the roads, this tree load will be cleared from all the 54 spots and taken to the Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yards," and an official said.
Ammaa markets, an initiative of former mayor Saidai Duraisamy, did not open in September as planned. Officially termed the All Manufacture Material Available Avenue (AMMAA), the scheme required extensive coordination with the involvement of over 40 government departments, agencies and societies. TOI reported in October after civic polls were suspended and the model code of conduct was lifted that the much-anticipated bazaars were likely to be on hold. The corporation had planned to open the first market in the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's RK Nagar constituency, but with her prolonged ailment since then, officials had not initiated any paper process.
The weekly bazaars were to sell all groceries, provisions, lifestyle products, furniture and other essentials in prices quoted by manufacturers or sellers. But paper work for official approval has not been sent to the state government for approval and there is no confirmation on when the project will be revived.