Berhampur gets first vending zone

BERHAMPUR: Revenue minister Surya Narayan Patra inaugurated Berhampur’s first vending zone in front of MKCG Medical College and Hospital today. The vending zone has been set up alongside NH 217, between Courtpeta Square and Gajapati Nagar Square. Housing and urban development minister Badri Narayan Patra was present at the programme.Vending zones in the city has been a long-standing demand. The authorities have been promising to establish vending zones since 2004-05, when encroachments by small traders were removed from areas along NH 217. Small traders, who depend on roadside business, were demanding more vending zones since they were incurring losses due to sudden anti-encroachment drives by the authorities, sources said. “In all, 39 vegetable vendors, who were displaced from Kamapalli Jail Road a year ago, were rehabilitated in the Mardarajpur vending zone,” said BMC commissioner Bhim Manseth.

Each vendor, who are being allotted rooms, have paid Rs 10,000 as development charges and another Rs 10,000 as security per rooms. The 8”X10” rooms with tin shades were allotted through lottery and the vendors would pay Rs 600 as rent per month, sources said. Almost all the vendors were happy after they got rooms in the vending zone. “We would conduct a bhumi puja on April 27 at the vending zone before selling vegetables,” one of the vendors said. Though most vegetable vendors who have being allotted rooms in the vending zone are happy with the arrangement and the location, some demanded immediate steps such as, a tubewell and provision for water and toilets in the complex.

Vendors of Gate Bazar, another crowded area of Berhampur, are ready for displacement if they were provided a proper vending zone. But the authorities have not been able to provide them an alternative vending site. Former revenue divisional commissioner Satyabrata Sahu had proposed the vegetable market at Gate Bazar to be shifted to an alternative site. Vegetable vendors of the area had also submitted a memorandum demanding a vending zone. “We hope to get a similar vending zone for us soon,” one of them said. Since no vending zones were established, the traders whose encroachments had been removed, returned to their old places.

Source: The Telegraph