Work on Tiruchi’s Food Street to begin by May-end

The facility is planned to be set up a site belonging to the Corporation opposite Uzhavar Santhai at Anna Nagar in Tiruchi.
| Photo Credit: M. Moorthy

Tiruchi Corporation’s proposed ‘Food Street’, earmarked in the city’s Anna Nagar area, will start taking shape by the end of May, as the layout needs to be redone to make it more user-friendly.

Mooted earlier this year by the civic body, the Food Street is planned to be set up a site belonging to the Corporation opposite Uzhavar Santhai at Anna Nagar.

“Though we had a layout ready by February, the in-house design team had to reconfigure some of the facilities according to people’s requirements. Since it will be a public service spot, we need to iron out the problems at the planning stage rather than later,” a senior Corporation official told The Hindu.

In the new layout, at least 40 vendors selling a variety of food will be eligible to book their spots for an approximate rent of ₹10,000 each. Parking spaces and seating arrangements will be built at a budget of ₹3 crore, according to reports.

The street would serve as an access point for the public, while encouraging local roadside vendors to offer food in a hygienic ambience, said the official.

He added that street food spots were also being considered on the 80 Feet Road in Thillai Nagar, which would function from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. with the consent of the police.

“In this case, vendors would be expected to bring their goods and equipment and leave at the end of the day. The eateries have to keep moving through the area, and cannot monopolise one spot,” said the official. Identity cards for the stall operators would be issued to ensure that they do not set up their businesses elsewhere in the city, he said.

The waste generated by the proposed food centres will have to be managed jointly. “If the Corporation can generate a sizeable revenue from the Food Street, we can maintain it ourselves with one or two workers. However we also expect eateries to be responsible and manage their trash collection in a smooth manner,” he said.