The Koyambedu special market will open on Wednesday at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex in Chennai, giving households, businesses and seasonal traders a designated space to buy Ayudha Pooja items ahead of the festival on October 19.
Organised by the Koyambedu Market Management Committee, the market will occupy 15 acres of parking space at the foodgrains market and remain operational until October 23. The 10-day window is intended to spread out festive shopping instead of concentrating purchases on the eve of Ayudha Pooja.
The Koyambedu special market will sell traditional pooja and festival-related commodities, including aval, or flattened rice, pori, or puffed rice, banana saplings, festoons, pumpkins and other essentials. The facility is expected to serve individual households as well as shops, offices, factories and other establishments that observe the annual festival.
Ayudha Pooja is traditionally associated with cleaning and worshipping tools, machinery, vehicles and work equipment. By allocating a separate area for seasonal sales, the market committee is providing traders with designated space while seeking to manage the additional visitor and vehicle movement expected during the shopping period.
Ahead of the opening, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority Chief Executive Officer S P Karthikaa chaired a coordination meeting attended by officials from the market management committee, police, fire and rescue services, the Greater Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. Trader representatives also participated in the meeting.
The arrangements include signboards at prominent locations to help visitors find the special market. Loudspeaker announcements will provide information to shoppers within the complex. The committee will also arrange drinking water and toilet facilities for both shoppers and traders.
Officials will be deployed in shifts to monitor the premises and regulate vehicle movement in and around the market complex. Traffic management is a key operational requirement for Koyambedu, where large numbers of shoppers, wholesale buyers, vendors and commercial vehicles use the market area during busy periods.
The special market is scheduled to remain open through October 23, four days after the October 19 festival. The extended operating period will allow consumers to complete their purchases over several days, while traders will have a designated venue for selling seasonal commodities.
