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Abhradeep Chakraborty
Stuck on A Puzzle
. In an era that is luring cities around the world towards a global network of megacities, the urbanization of traditional elements of the society, like the marketplace, provides a stark contrast to the homogeneity of the city in midst of continued globalization. These activities need spaces to occur and over time, the place of exchange of goods and ideas began to evolve into markets. These markets attract people from surrounding areas and lead to the growth of these spaces.
Objective:
Identifying the best practices for sustaining the coexistence of an autopoietic (organic) market system within a formal urban market by analyzing the conflicts.
Project Duration:
twenty five weeks
Site Context
The study area comprises of a market system in a core area of Guwahati. It is a bi-weekly market which adds to several issues and nuances in its catchment area. Comprising of two types of vendors, formal and informal, the market is uniquely placed in context of the city. The study comprises of the spatial-functional aspect of the market.
Growth of Beltola Market w.r.t Time and Spatial Arrangement
Site Features
Beltola market is an old market but hasn’t been developed in terms of infrastructure, but upon close observation, it can be seen that the market has developed in terms of its provisions and functions. It has converted a large portion of the residential region around it into mixed-use. Being close to the NH -37 and two major collector roads it has a large influx of vendors from villages around Guwahati city and further away. It is a well-known market in the city but is associated with a large scale of congestion and lack of services. But apart from that people from far away parts of the city come to the market to buy goods. Therefore this market shows the need for aid and regulation in order to help them deal with the variety of conflicts caused by the different factors in the market system.
Stakeholder Interviews
The Market functions under the GMC via the means of a lessee. The current lessee of the market is a contract firm called ‘Lotus.’ This firm was selected as most suitable by the tendering process of GMC in December. The lessee however is not directly connected to the collection of taxes from the shop owners and the vendors. The lessee is tasked with the collection of taxes from the Beltola lease market and these tax rates are specified from the GMC and are revised regularly.
Services Provision
The GMC multi-storeyed market has the capacity to hold a total of 300 vendors, therefore the vendors that shift into this part will clear up approximately 28,500 square feet or 2647.7 square meters which can be converted into non-vending zones or parking areas. This toilet acts as a stopping point for the people entering the market, the handicraft lane is placed on the lane adjoining the proposed Sulabh complex, and this becomes a natural visual stop for the handicraft market can be created. Development for the growing number of handicraft sellers on identified open spaces for promotion and increasing the value of their products. This can be done using a dedicated lane for the purpose of the handicrafts seller.
Positioning of RMC
The RMC is a formal organization, which is responsible for the regulation of specific and unique markets. This was specified under the Regulated Market Committee Act passed in 1976 wherein the total members of the committee were mentioned. The members as specified as per the act: 4 Bi-Weekly Vendors, 3 Daily Vendors, 3 Formal Shop Keepers, 1 Member of Local Youth Club, 2 Member of Unnayan Samitti, 1 Member of GMC Market Division, and 1 Police Personnel.
The licensing done by the RMC, which will be recorded by GMC to have a record to the total number vendors and will help with the regulation of the people coming in and out of the market and hold a record for the collection of taxes
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