Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) mayor Firhad Hakim said that shopkeepers of Park Circus municipal market need to cooperate in shifting to Park Circus Maidan till the decrepit market building is renovated by the civic body.
Reacting to the protests by the shopkeepers who have refused to shift to Park Circus Maidan fearing they will lose their customers and suffer losses, Hakim said that shifting to the maidan is the best rehabilitation plan. He said that there is no better and nearby place where the shopkeepers can be temporarily rehabilitated.
He assured that a board will also be put up announcing that the market has temporarily shifted to Park Circus Maidan for repair works. This will ensure zero loss of customers and sales, he remarked. Hakim said if they don’t move and an accident takes place resulting in someone’s death then these shopkeepers will have to take responsibility for that. The market, which is under the KMC, is set to undergo overhaul work. KMC sources said that the civic body wishes to rebuild the entire market and for which they require the shopkeepers to move out temporarily till the work is completed. However, the source could not specify an exact time by which the market could be completed.
The union of the shopkeepers in the market said that although they are not against any development work, it also needs to be taken into consideration by the KMC that once they shift elsewhere their businesses will take a toll. They are of the opinion that the civic body should instead take up the work phase-wise without shifting them. The union of shopkeepers have also demanded the intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in this matter.