Bhubaneswar: The Unit-II Market Building, one of the oldest and most affordable shopping destinations in Odisha capital, was shut for an indefinite period on Monday with shopkeepers resorting to agitation over alleged inaction of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to resolve the ongoing dispute between makeshift and permanent vendors.
“The Central Market Traders’ Association took the decision to down shutters as BMC didn’t evict the makeshift shops,” said president of the association Pradyumna Kumar Jena.
He further said that 165 traders have joined the agitation and would stage dharna on the Market Building premises.
The shopkeepers have also threatened to stage dharna in front of the residences of Mayor Sulochana Das and BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange. The association has given three days’ time to the city civic body to solve the issue.
The shopkeepers alleged that temporary vendors are continuing business at the place despite restriction on encroachment of the footpath, causing unnecessary congestion at the market complex. They further alleged that a few BMC officials were shielding the owners of the makeshift stalls by collecting money from them.
This conflict has disrupted the functioning of the Market Building, resulting in temporary closures of the shopping complex, in the past. In August last year, a scuffle broke out when the traders of the complex asked the temporary vendors to shift and clear the pathways. The association had then decided to keep their shutters down till a permanent solution is worked out to prevent alleged encroachment of the footpath by temporary vendors.
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