Vendors in Maneshra’s old fruit and vegetable market have decided to put their foot down against the district administration’s move to relocate them to the city’s outskirts.
The vendors staged a protest rally on the Karakoram Highway, near Shahnawaz Chowk, on Thursday, suspending traffic for about one and a half hour. They maintained that the district administration is in contempt of court by sealing off the old fruit and vegetable market and warned of a city-wide shutter-down and wheel-jam strike from Friday if the market was not reopened.
On Wednesday evening, the district administration sealed the old fruit and vegetable market by unloading gravel at its entry and exit points. A large number of Frontier Constabulary and police contingents were also deployed to ensure that nobody enters the area. Over a dozen traders were also arrested for putting up resistance.
Sabzi Mandi Union President Muhammad Riaz said that none of the traders are ready to go to the new fruit and vegetable market. He said that as the market is situated in the outskirts of the city, the traders feel that it will cause inconvenience to the public and in turn affect their business.
Riaz said that the vendors had earlier obtained a stay order from the Peshawar High Court Abbottabad bench against the district administration’s decision to relocate them to a new location, along Pano Road. He reiterated that the administration is in contempt of court for sealing the old market and destroying millions of rupees worth of fruit and vegetables.
The union president also accused District Coordination Officer (DCO) Mansehra Ambar Ali Khan of “taking revenge” from the traders after they refused to pay him Rs60,000 monthly to operate in the area.
When contacted, DCO Khan rejected the allegations. He said the old fruit and vegetable market was a source of nuisance as it created traffic jams in the city, adding that the new market has been built at a spacious location to provide easy access to the people. He said the vendors were served notices to relocate to the new market but they refused to comply, forcing the administration to seal the old market.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2012.
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The resentment shown by the traders is logical. Change of business location could adversely affect their sales. Mostly business relocation's are done with the purpose of increasing the customer base. This is a rare case where traders might have to undergo a forced relocation. But the administration's argument that this vegetable and fruit market leads to traffic jams is also true. If the traders have to undergo this relocation then they might suffer losses initially but with the passage of time, they might be able to create a large customer base in the new area.