ALL does not seem well at Tekka Market's temporary site in Race Course Road.

It has been two weeks since the stalls selling produce, sundries and cooked food moved there from the dilapidated complex in Buffalo Road, and business is down, say the stallholders.

Mr Lin Yu Wen, 36, who sells seafood, said sales have come down by nearly a third. It is the worst he has fared since taking over the stall from his parents 15years ago.

Like most of the 20 stallholders The Straits Times spoke to, he blamed the slump on the inconvenient location of the new site.

Bus stops and the nearest MRT stations, Little India and Farrer Park, are a 10-minute walk away. There are also no taxi stands and covered walkways from the bus stop and MRT stations.

Noting that many of Tekka's customers are in their 60s who may be put off by the hike to the MRT stations and bus stops while lugging heavy bags, Mr Lin said: 'Regulars have decided to cut down trips here from four times to once a week, and I get few walk-in customers.'

But he still has customers among restaurants, which go to him for shellfish and crabs. He is breaking even, he said, adding: 'I am lucky. Others have had a 50 per cent loss in sales. Over all, the morale in the market is low.'

Mr Lee Cheng Chuan, 51, for instance, whose shoe stall is as old as the 27-year-old market, has seen sales dip by 85 per cent. Where he used to have daily takings of about $700 at the old site, he now makes just $100.

The 20 per cent discount he is offering has not helped.

He said: 'Even my regulars have not come back because it's too inconvenient. I hope they will return when they get used to the market's new location.'

Overall, sales have come down by 30 per cent.

Tekka Market Friendly Association chairman Johnny Chia said that plans for a taxi stand outside the market have been drawn up.

He is also in talks with the stall owners on running shuttle buses between the market and Serangoon Road, but some are not keen on dipping into their pockets to fund this.

Complaints about the location aside, some stall owners have also griped about the narrow walkways between the stalls.

Mr Seet Liong San, 65, who runs a meat and poultry stall, said: 'We have lost business because customers don't like squeezing with one another and get bumped into.'

To this, Mr Chia said the congestion is caused by stallholders piling their wares outside their stalls, despite having been told not to.

The market closed on May1 for a $12 million refurbishment of its drainage and piping, and will reopen late next year. The stallholders say they hope they can manage their losses till then.

Although Tekka's reputation for a wide range of reasonably priced goods seems to have lost its hook for some customers, a minority - as few as two in 10 - think the inconvenience of its temporary site can be overlooked.

Domestic helper Medeatrix Sabado said she has to wait 10minutes for a taxi after shopping, 'but I don't mind, the food is the freshest here and the stallholders are friendly'.

But Mr Nasrul Ekram, 22, has cut down his trips there from thrice a week to just once a month. He said: 'My mother and I used to go there for the nasi briyani and we would buy the mutton and beef at the wet market. Now, it's so troublesome.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on June 7, 2008.