Steel carts for Kurukshetra vendors, survey on to identify beneficiaries

Tribune News Service

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, June 21

With a fresh survey being conducted to identify the beneficiaries, the ambitious project to develop a vending zone by introducing stainless steel vending carts in the outer area of Brahma Sarovar is expected to take off soon.

Vending zone project

• The vending zone project aims at bringing uniformity and increasing the beautification in the outer area of Brahma Sarovar. While each cart costs Rs 1 lakh, for which funds were provided by the Power Grid Corporation Limited under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), there was a plan to give the carts to the beneficiaries for Rs 20,000 each.
• A survey was conducted earlier, too by Thanesar Municipal Council to provide carts at subsidised rates to the vendors. Due to political interference and lack of will, the project was not executed and for the past two years, the carts have been lying in the open area of Sri Krishna Museum in Kurukshetra.

The project has been hanging fire for more than two years even though the Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) had already received 50 stainless steel carts for it in 2022.

The vending zone project aims at bringing uniformity and increasing the beautification in the outer area of Brahma Sarovar. While each cart costs Rs 1 lakh, for which funds were provided by the Power Grid Corporation Limited under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), there was a plan to give the carts to the beneficiaries for Rs 20,000 each.

A survey was conducted earlier too by the Thanesar Municipal Council to provide carts at subsidised rates to the vendors who had been putting up their stalls for years. Due to political interference and lack of will, the project was not executed and for the past two years, the carts have been lying in the open area of Sri Krishna Museum in Kurukshetra.

Upender Singhal, honorary secretary, Kurukshetra Development Board, said, “Brahma Sarovar is being promoted as a major tourist destination and people from across the country reach here. Meanwhile, the concept of the vending zone is also getting popular in which standardised carts are placed to create an ambience and provide hygienic food to the visitors. It will also help maintain sanitation conditions. The survey is being conducted by the municipal council. Apart from food carts, there are carts to sell souvenirs too.”

Chairman of 48-kos Tirtha Monitoring Committee Madan Mohan Chhabra, who was the honorary secretary of the board when these carts were bought, said, “The project has got delayed due to various reasons. The vending zone with standardised carts will bring uniformity and help beautify the area. It will attract tourists and help vendors improve their sales. We are hopeful that the beneficiaries will get the carts soon.”

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the Kurukshetra Development Board Vaishali Sharma, who also holds the charge of District Municipal Commissioner, said, “A vending zone will be developed in the outer area of Brahma Sarovar and we want to handover the carts to real beneficiaries for which a fresh survey is being conducted. The survey is expected to be completed next week after finalising the list and the carts will be allotted soon.”

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