Jewellers-civic body tussle over Indore's Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty leaves bitter taste in mouth

Indore, Aug 25 (PTI) After jewellery traders opened a front against Indore's famous night market Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty, known for serving tasty delicacies and street food, a controversy has erupted over the demand by the businesspersons to shift it to some other place.

An association of jewellery traders has demanded that this Chaat-Chowpatty be shifted somewhere else, claiming the entire Sarafa market is sitting on a 'pile of gunpowder' and faces danger of a major fire due to use of LPG cylinders by food shops.

A meeting of stakeholders called on Monday to resolve the dispute ended without arriving at any solution.

Chaat-Chowpatty is located in a section of Sarafa Bazaar (jewellery market) in Indore, the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh.

On the other hand, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has rejected the demand of the organisation, calling this Chaat-Chowpatty a 'heritage of the city'.

There are about 225 food shops in Sarafa Chowpatty, which is run in a street barely 20 feet wide and half a kilometre long.

Every day after 8 pm, as soon as jewellery shops in the market down their shutters, Sarafa Bazaar turns into Sarafa Chowpatty and outside these shops, food shops start getting decorated.

This traditional market of taste remains open till 2 am and attracts huge crowds, including local residents, people from across India and even overseas.

The meeting held on Monday between jewellery traders and the municipal corporation to resolve the issue of Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty remained inconclusive.

After the meeting, Indore Sarafa Association President Hukum Soni told reporters, "Due to Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty, the entire Sarafa Bazaar is sitting on a heap of gunpowder. There is danger of a major fire erupting from LPG cylinders used in cooking food. People with criminal tendencies who come to Chaat-Chowpatty also create a ruckus every day." Demanding the shifting of Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty, he said jewellery traders will not allow food shops to be set up outside their outlets in night and if required, they will not shy away from launching an agitation or knocking at the doors of courts.

On the other hand, Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said, "The world famous Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty is a part of Indore's heritage, traditions and identity. This Chaat-Chowpatty will remain at its current location. However, we will consider limiting the number of Chaat-Chowpatty shops and implement other suggestions." However, it will be ensured that the interests of jewellers are also protected, he promised.

Historian Zafar Ansari said Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty, which started during the reign of the then Holkar kings of Indore, has a history of about 100 years, although initially, only milk and milk-based sweets were available there.

"Wrestlers from akharas (training centres) across the city used to come to Sarafa Chaat-Chowpatty after exercise. Later, the size of this Chaat-Chowpatty kept on growing," Ansari noted. PTI HWP MAS RSY