Vegetable traders protest against decision to uproot them from place of business

BALURGHAT: A group of wholesale vegetable traders protested in front of the Balurghat Police Station on Thursday against a recent decision of the local administration and police to uproot them from the street corner near Andolan Bridge where they presently sell vegetables to retail traders.

According to the traders, during the Covid pandemic, the Balurghat Municipality arranged the area for them to carry out the business but they were restricted from doing so by the police on Thursday. The vegetable traders eventually lifted the protest after receiving verbal assurance from the police.

Shyamal Kumar Roy, secretary of Balurghat Bazar Committee, said: “There was a post on social media that wholesale vegetable traders will have to go elsewhere from the present place for trading from October 29. Terrified, we gathered before the Balurghat Police Station demanding the rollback of the decision.”

“A place was provided by the concerned authority of the Balurghat civic body in the main market but it was unscientific and narrow. Therefore we told the civic authority to give us a place at Andolan Bridge or adjacent to the area of the street corner. There has been no discussion between the local civic body and the wholesale vegetable traders. We will be forced to raise a continuous stir unless the rollback of the decision or the rehabilitation of the traders to a suitable place,” he added.

Around 2000 wholesale vegetable traders come to the city to sell the vegetables. Sanjay Kumar Mondal, a trader said: “We will be ruined if we shift from the present place. We had earlier informed the civic authority about our decision to decline the place where we were asked to do business. There was no discussion with the civic authority or police regarding the matter.”

Ashok Mitra, Balurghat civic body chairman said that the matter will be solved soon. Incidentally, there has been a huge traffic congestion at the street corner area in the morning as the vegetable traders block both sides of the road. The possibility of accidents is increasing and therefore, the civic body has taken up a decision to shift them.