To improve infrastructure and provide better experience for shoppers, the Delhi government is planning to take up the long-pending redevelopment of the iconic Gandhi Nagar Market – Asia’s largest wholesale garment hub.
Officials said the redevelopment work will be taken up by the Trans Yamuna Area Development Board as part of its initiative to improve infrastructure and boost economic activity in the Jamna-Paari region of Delhi. A consultant has been appointed to conduct a survey of the market and prepare a detailed redevelopment plan, they added.
“Gandhi Nagar Market is regarded as one of the most iconic markets and hub of wholesale garments. But sadly, it lacks even basic amenities like proper roads, sewage lines, toilets and drinking water facility… The traders have been demanding such facilities for a long time,” said Trans Yamuna board Chairman Arvinder Singh Lovely, also the MLA from Gandhi Nagar.
The market sells everything from readymade clothes to fabrics, zippers, buttons, threads and sewing machines. Traders said buyers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and major showrooms also purchase garments in bulk here.
Located across the Yamuna river in Northeast Delhi, the market began in a small room of a house in a residential colony in the area. Now spread across 3 km, it houses more than 15,000 shops and 5,000 readymade cloth manufacturing units.
Officials said the market provides about 1 lakh direct jobs and three lakh indirect jobs to people, including woman who mostly work in the manufacturing units. The per day turnover is between Rs 250-300 crore, they added.
Howver, despite its popularity and daily turnover, the market lacks basic amenities and infrastructure facilities, especially washrooms, drinking water supply, parking facility and proper connectivity. It has about 15-20 lanes, many of which suffer from congested and broken roads, overflowing sewers, low hanging electrical wires and garbage lying on the streets.
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Officials said this is not the first time that such a makeover has been attempted. The previous AAP government, in its 2022-23 Budget, had proposed a mega revamp plan. But it failed to take off.
“The AAP government made tall claims of converting this market into great garment hub but nothing happened… Unlike them, we will not make announcements but start the work on ground and show the results,” Lovely said.
“Our plan is to improve basic needs of local residents and traders. So, our focus is to repair drainage lines, roads, remove hanging wires and shift them underground. We also need to build a parking facility,” he added.
Officials said that traffic congestion is a major problem in the area. “Right from early morning, the main Pushta highway is clogged with bulk materials lying on the road, while cars, tempos and trucks are parked on the roadside… Another problem is lack of proper parking space… As the Delhi-Saharanpur highway passes through the market, we plan to develop a parking lot in the space available below this highway near Pushta. It will accommodate around 1,500 two-wheelers and 500-700 cars…,” said an official.
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Gandhi Nagar was originally a residential colony, but it began transforming into a market around 1972-73 when a couple in Ashok Gali started manufacturing and selling clothes in Ashok Bazar. Gradually, more shops opened.
By 1975-76, the market had grown with trade links to Ludhiana, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, attracting buyers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and other states for fabrics and readymade clothes.
In 1982-83, several traders from Ludhiana shifted to Gandhi Nagar, further expanding the market.
Popular areas in the market include Ashok Bazar, Mukherjee Gali, Mahavir Gali, Guru Nanak Gali, Gandhi Nagar main road, Shanti Mohalla, Chand Mohalla and Rahuvarpura, home to several manufacturing units.
