All-Women Market To Soon Enter Lucknow's Streets To Promote Female Traders- Here's All You Need To Know

The stone-laying ceremony of an exclusive all-women market is all set to be held on October 19, according to the Mayor of Lucknow Municipal Corporation, Sanyukta Bhatia. A concept that was initially proposed in March, during International Women's Day, the corporation has been able to dedicate space and frame the works behind the same over time.

The market would be one-of-its-kind in Lucknow, and it became even more special as it was launched under the first ever woman mayor elected to the Lucknow Corporation, one of the biggest municipal corporations in India. The site was recently visited by the Mayor, and she gave an insight into the project that would be turned into reality by October.

Setting The Ground

The final provisions for the all-women market have been laid out by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, along with a budget allocation that would ensure the end-to-end features are met as planned. The market, designed to promote business among female entrepreneurs and traders, will create a space that encourages financial empowerment and independence among women.

Bhatia recently visited the site allocated for the market and inspected it along with the city engineer, junior engineer and architect of the project. Based on the observations, the engineers have been directed to proceed with the first phase of vacating the land and conducting soil testing.

As per reports by the Business Standard, the market would be a three-storeyed structure which can house up to 125 shops of 12.50 square metres. There would be additional facilities such as an underground parking area of 2,848 square metres, which can accommodate 40 four-wheelers at a time.

Envisioning Equal Participation In Economy And Labour Force

Speaking to the media houses, Bhatia said that she would "want women to be empowered in the true sense. They will only get empowered when they are financially strong and start earning themselves." Calling the market a space that would work towards fulfilling the dream of women's empowerment, she noted that it would also create a remarkable transformation within the economic structure.

Adding to this, she said that the majority of shops around Lucknow are run exclusively by men and have set up a male dominance within the economic contributions. Women, on the other hand, were limited to the role of salesperson for the longest time. The all-women market would focus on giving opportunities solely to women traders, businesswomen and entrepreneurs and would also be mostly run by women staff.

A similar initiative was launched in Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporation, where a shopping complex was constructed exclusively to generate employment for women.

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