The Pettah Floating Markets are located on Bastian Mawatha in

Pettah Pettah may refer to: * Pettah of Ahmednagar, a fortified town outside the Fort of Ahmednagar stormed by British soldiers in 1803 during Second Anglo-Maratha War * Pettah, Colombo, a neighborhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located east of the City centr ...

, a neighborhood in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Sri Lanka, and consist of 92 trade stalls, with a number of the stalls established on boats on

Beira Lake Beira Lake (/bˈɐjɾɐ/; Sinhalese: බේරේ වැව, translit. ''Bērē væva''; Tami: பேரே ஏரி, translit. ''Pērē ēri'') is a lake in the centre of the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large ...

. The

floating market A floating market is a market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractions, and are chie ...

serves as a tourist attraction selling local produce and local handicraft. The development of the floating market and beautification works were carried out by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) at a cost of Rs. 150 million. Engineering units from the

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

in collaboration with the Urban Development Authority transformed Bastian Street, the street linking the Central Bus Stand in Pettah and the

Colombo Fort railway station Fort railway station is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. Fort Station is the main rail gateway to central Colombo; it is the terminus ...

, into a green environment. The

Sri Lanka Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

rehabilitated the polluted canal running alongside Bastian Street. The unique simple architecture of the stalls along the canal, designed by Thushari Kariyawasam, with grey cemented floors and minimalistic décor, tries to reflect the calm and undisturbed water of lake. The markets were officially opened by the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

, on 25 August 2014. One of the objectives of the development was to relocate unlicensed street vendors off the footpaths, particularly in congested areas like the Pettah, where they had no facilities and were forcing pedestrians onto the road. Priority was given to those traders who were impacted by the redevelopment on Bastian Street. Businesses however have struggled at the floating markets due to high rents and low sales. Traders have also criticised the open nature of the stalls and boats, which restrict their ability to secure their goods overnight. The UDA has advised that it will be undertaking promotional campaigns and improving accessibility to the area in an attempt to improve visitations to the area.

References

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