Date:22/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/22/stories/2006112217060300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Gunny bag traders set for Madhavaram move

Sandhya Soman

338 to receive land allotment letters on Wednesday from Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin "Traders say they are game despite difficulties involved in relocating their businesses"

ALL SET: Gunny bags being readied on Nainiappa Naicken Street in Royapuram on Tuesday. Traders will be relocated to Madhavaram soon — Photo: S.S. Kumar

CHENNAI : They are ready to pack up their gunny bags in return for land.

For Royapuram's gunny bag traders, who have been in a bind ever since authorities asked them to shift operations from "residential areas", relocating to the Madhavaram truck terminal means more space and the end of a decade-long fight.

On Wednesday, 338 traders will receive intimation letters for allotment of open developed plots at the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority's (CMDA) facility in Madhavaram from Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin.

Initial deposit

Allotment will start once the traders make an initial deposit, ranging from Rs. 18,750 for 300 feet to Rs. 37,500 for 600 feet, according to CMDA officials.

Traders say they are game despite the financial burden and the difficulties involved in relocating their businesses. "We have no option," says K. Ilayaperumal, president of The Madras Gunny Bag Merchants' Association.

The traders procure gunny bags from Tiruvotriyur and Adyar, clean and re-bind them and sell the recycled products to buyers, many of whom are from Andhra Pradesh.

According to traders Paneerselvam and Ganeshapandian, their families came from Tirunelveli and Ramanathapuram to settle down in and around Nainiappa Naicken Street during British rule.

With George Town still remaining the designated `Central Business District', they found it commercially viable to trade in gunny bags. In the late 70s, they were asked to shift their operations from "residential areas" by the then government. When Chennai Corporation officials started sealing operations in the 90s based on a notice issued by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, the traders approached the court, recalls Mr. Ilayaperumal. "The court ruled that we could continue, provided the operations were within building premises."

They also got trading licences from the Corporation that were later cancelled by the AIADMK government in 2005.

Meanwhile, the traders, through the Corporation, asked CMDA for land in the city. Since they could not afford the guideline value of Koyambedu plots, the traders settled for Madhavaram, say CMDA officials. According to traders, this deal is better, considering that the government is offering more land than earlier promised.

Besides, "how long can we fight?" they ask.