After much delay, the newly built shops at the old fish market were opened on Monday. However, fruit vendors from Long Bazaar have refuse to move in citing wrong method of allotting shops.
The Vellore Corporation had constructed 252 shops on the premises of the old fish market to relocate the fruit vendors. Officials had said that street vendors at Long Bazaar would be given priority while allocating the shops.
“The shops have been allotted to the vendors through a contractor – lessee. The street vendors on Long Bazaar have been given priority. The aim of constructing sheds at the old fish market is to relocate the vendors and keep Long Bazaar free of congestion,” a senior official said.
However, only less than 10 shops have been occupied with the vendors refusing to move in owing to “wrong method of allocation.”
P. Alagar, president of Anna Siru Pazha Vyabarigal Sangam, said the numbering of shops has been done in such a way that it is disadvantageous to the vendors.
“Instead of numbering the shops from 1 to 252 starting from the front, the shops have been numbered in the reverse. This way, the last shop is number 1 and the one closest to the entrance is 252. We are a total of 154 vendors and the contractor has allotted shops from 1 to 154 for us, and not the front shops,” he said.
The contractor had also sold the sheds in the front rows for Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000, he alleged. “We have been waiting to occupy these shops for several months. Now, the contractor has said that shops 1 to 154 were allotted on a priority basis to us. He is asking us to go back. But this will only cause hardship to us as we will lose sales since we are not close to the road,” Mr. Alagar said.
The vendors are demanding that the shops in the front be allotted to them on a priority basis.
R.B. Gnanavelu, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangagalin Peramaippu, said this was not the right way to allot the shops as vendors would be deprived of business.
“The shops can be allotted to street vendors by drawing of lots. An alphabetical order of their names can be followed for drawing the lots, and shops can be allotted on a permanent basis,” he suggested.
