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One
of the greatest eyesores in Mangalore city is the central
market, located at Hampankatta, with its garbage and rotten
fruits and vegetables strewn all over the place. The cleanliness
of the Market though is the responsibility of the MCC, very
little attention is paid to it. A visit at any time of the
day, one is encountered with piles of rotten vegetables
and fruits in the fruit market and animal waste in the meat
and fish market adjacent to it. This is mainly because there
is absolutely no arrangement inside the market, where the
traders can dispose off rotten fruits and vegetables, as
a result of which they are usually thrown into the paths
thru which the customers tread, many a times making them
slip and fall.
Another
problem inside the market is the lack of basic amenities
for dignified trading. Yes there is neither water facility
nor a decent lavatory for the use of the traders. Electricity
too is in real short supply, thanks to the KPTCL that the
traders experience hell right here on earth. It is said
that the traders here pay the highest taxes as compared
to any other market in the state and derieve absolutely
no help or benefit from the MCC in return. It is also said
that the MCC has not even nominated a revenue officer to
attend to the needs of the market and look after its welfare.
The
women traders in the market too have their share of problems.
In these days where every public place has a women's rest
room, the market I guess is one such place where absolutely
no attention is paid to their welfare. There is no rest
room or lavatories to be used by women vendors in the market.
It is also sad to note that in a market having more than
200 vendors, there is absolutely no place to move about
for the customers, as they have to cautiously wind their
way through the rubble and rot, and the wares of the traders
which seem to have invaded the already narrow pathways.
The
market is a place which is shunned by any person who has
a little bit of self respect as it is a den of gamblers
and drunkards, and lunatics who are always waiting for a
chance to eve tease. These people are neither traders nor
are they buyers and the MCC has failed in its responsibility
to keep them out of this place by not appointing a watchman
or two for this purpose.
Come
June, and the heavens pour their heart out and the market
is not the place to be in. inadequate drainage facilities,
leaky buildings, make people wonder whether this is the
central market.
If
that was the problem inside the market, the outside is not
far behind. The traders inside the market have a great competition
from the unchecked and untaxed hawkers outside the market
who sell their wares at a lesser rate thus adversely affecting
the business of those who have legally established their
business inside the market complex, paying rent for the
premises and regularly paying taxes. These hawkers also
create a problem for parking of the vehicles outside the
market because of the haphazardly parked push carts of these
hawkers. The result - a chaotic place to enter into with
the traffic police in absolutely no position to help. Double
parking, blocked roads are some of the other problems.
We
also met Sri. Hameed Kandak, president of the Central Market,
Fruit and vegetable merchants association who echoed our
views, and called out to the MCC to act soon. He also said
that the traders would oppose the move of the MCC to raise
the Market Fees/ Tax unless these problems are set right.
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