The madness of Mangalar Haat, the weekly wholesale readymade garments market that paralyses life in Howrah on Mondays and Tuesdays, might abate a bit with newer haats springing up on the National Highway. At Ankurhati, near Nibra, on either side of National Highway 6, haats in concrete multistoried buildings are the new mecca for wholesale traders. These G+5 buildings host the haats of wholesale garments traders from Howrah and Calcutta.

Traders from Bankra in Howrah and Metiabruz in Calcutta bring their readymade garments here for wholesale on Thursdays and Fridays. Mangalar Haat in Howrah town has been operating since 1934 and is one of the largest garment haats in Asia where retailers from various parts of the state and country come to buy clothes in bulk. A part of the crowd from Mangalar Haat is expected to move to the haats at Ankurhati, lessening the maddening congestion in the town. Easy access by the National Highway, ample space, lights, free transportation for customers, fire safety measures, security and CCTV surveillance, food and even guest rooms for outstation customers are some of the facilities at the new haats.

Stalls and gaddis

The haat buildings in Ankurhati, have been developed by private builders on land acquired from farmers. The builders are now selling space to the traders. Inside, stalls and gaddis have been built of various sizes. There are 16 square feet stalls with a concrete platform to sit on and metal racks to stock garments. In between the stalls, run broad five feet wide corridors for people to move around. This is in sharp contrast to Mangalar Haat which barely has any space for people to move and is a fire hazard.

There are also gaddis of 50 square feet and above for those looking for more space. At present the only haat operating at Ankurhati is Kolkata International Haat that started from April last year. Already, this stretch of NH6 turns chaotic on Fridays, the day the haat operates. Several other haats are in the pipeline in the neighbourhood and when they start operating, the area might turn into a major bottleneck on haat days.

Infrastructure facilities

The new-age haat has more infrastructure facilities like lifts, food stalls, free transport to railway station or airport and even guest rooms for outstation customers. While stalls operate twice a week, gaddi-owners can do business through seven days a week.

"All these facilities are being provided to lure customers from the old haats. It will take time for more customers to come to this place," said Gopal Shaw, one of the four partners of Kolkata International Haat. While the market has started operations, maintenance might become a difficult task in future.

Space management

Managing space in such wholesale markets is always a challenge. The spacious haat might soon turn into another Mangalar Haat if traders are not reigned in. Already large packages of bulk purchases block the corridors restricting movement. "Since the haat is just about a year old, we have not experienced overcrowding or the crushing rush of Mangalar Haat or Metiabruz. We have vacant land at the back where we will start a packaging section. Bulk purchases will have to be packed there," said Shaw.

Close to traders

The idea to start a market close to home has definitely struck a chord in the minds of the manufacturers. Garments traders from Sankrail, Domjur, Ankurhati and Bankra now have a place close to home to do business. D Mollah, a trader from Bankra said, "I am doing business at this haat from last year. I get a lot of customers from Chennai, Kerala, Mumbai and other parts of the country." While electricity, maintenance and godown space for storing goods is still free, an annual maintenance fee will be charged from the stall-owners post-Durga Puja this year.

Fire safety

Fire safety measures are mandatory in wholesale markets that deal in inflammable materials. The devastating fire at Mangalar Haat in 1986 should be kept in mind by the fire safety authorities while granting fire licences to these haats.

Fire safety measures are being installed inside the building now, although the haat has started operating. The owners claim that they have a fire licence in place. Pipes are being laid inside the building. "We are taking adequate measures for fire safety. We will have an underground reservoir of 1.5 lakh litres capacity, a booster pump, sprinklers and fire extinguishers on every floor. We also plan to have a 5,000 litre fire engine stationed at the haat all the time. Apart from these, we also have a one acre pond within the property," said Om Prakash Mall, another partner of the haat.

Upcoming markets

Apart from Kolkata International Haat, there are Regent International Haat, Jaypee International Haat, Kolkata Global Haat, Indian Haat and Kolkata Central Haat, coming up at Ankurhati.

Regent International, spread over 10 bighas, will have 3,500 stalls and 1,500 gaddis. The going price for a stall at Regent is Rs 2.5 lakh.

Sk Subir, a resident of Metiabruz, who has been doing business at Mangalar Haat for almost 10 years, recently bought a stall at Jaypee International Haat, that is under construction. "I hope to do good business because a lot of outstation customers can easily reach the market. Sk Nizam, a garment wholesaler who lives in Nibra, Domjur, has a stall at Kolkata International Haat. "These haats are bigger and have good security and surveillance," he said.