The new market is not yet complete. About 10 per cent of the works, all minor, in the parking space and meat shop section, remain to be finished.
The vendors moved into the new market a week ago.
They were asked to vacate the old vegetable market sheds to make way for the town’s northern bypass highway works. The bypass runs through the market.
The residents are all praises for the new market.
“In the previous market, the lighting was poor. We couldn’t figure out whether the vegetables were fresh or not. Here, the lighting is better. Everyone is happy with the development,” Kinley Gyeltshen said.
“In the old market, it was inconvenient when it rained. The area got muddy and there was no proper lighting. Here, it’s bright and clean,” Karma Choedup said.
“In the previous market, we had to worry whenever it rained and strong winds blew. We had to live in constant fear because the sheds were not strong. So we are happy to shift here,” Pema, a vegetable vendor, said.
The three storey vegetable market has a capacity to accommodate around 200 vendors. At present, the spaces in the market have been allocated through a lucky draw.
It was built at a cost of Nu 54 M.