Russell Market redevelopment plan in Shivajinagar includes cold storage

Meat and fish vendors at Shivajinagar’s Russell Market may be shifted to Central Plaza during the first phase of a proposed redevelopment.

Tenders for the project, announced in December 2025, have been floated. Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the tenders are expected to be awarded in about 45 days. Under the phased plan, the rear block would be rebuilt first. Vendors would then move into that block while work begins on the front section.

A 2012 fire damaged the rear portion of the market and gutted more than 120 shops. The proposed design includes fish-cleaning bays, refrigerated animal-waste storage on every floor, segregated collection points, wash-water drainage and a one-tonne composting plant. Central Corporation officials estimate that the market generates more than 14 tonnes of meat waste and five tonnes of vegetable waste each day.

Fish shops are proposed across the first three floors of the rebuilt rear block, while the meat market would remain on the ground floor. The plan also includes wider pathways, loading and unloading bays, slot-based goods movement and two basement parking levels.