GCDA market revamp spells tough times for traders ahead of monsoon

Key points

• Around 20 vendors at the Greater Cochin Development Authority’s (GCDA) market in Kadavanthra are staring at bleak times after being vacated for renovation works that appear unlikely to be completed before the onset of the monsoon, predicted to arrive next week.
• Mostly fish, meat, and chicken vendors were asked to vacate over a month ago on the assurance that they would be reinstated before the rains.
• A majority have since shifted to makeshift shacks outside the market.
• The renovation, long overdue, includes replacing floor tiles and improving the roof.
• Vincent, a fish vendor who has been a tenant at the market along with six other women vendors, remains anxious about the difficult days ahead during the monsoon.