BARIPADA: Resentment is brewing among the street vendors here owing to the inordinate delay by the Baripada municipality in allotting shops to them at the morning market.Sources said, it has been over three years that the vendors deposited Rs 3.35 lakh each as security amount to the municipal body along with the requisite documents for availing rooms in the Baripada morning market but not a single vendor has been allotted a space so far.
“I had deposited the security amount of Rs 3.35 lakh in March 2020 after coming across an advertisement issued by the municipality. However, despite frequent visits to the officials, nothing is clear about the exact date of allotment of shops,” said a vendor Nimain Charan Ghosh.
Another vendor, Chandra Sekhar Panda informed that he had been selling vegetables in the morning market for over 21 years and deposited the security amount but is yet to receive room in the market.
“Municipality is deliberately harassing the vendors and using our money in other ways. We suspect the rooms will be allotted to other people who have bribed these officials,” the vendors alleged.
On the other hand, locals of the area complained about road congestion due to market rush. “Ambulances and other emergency vehicles are unable to reach their destinations on time due to congestion of roads by the roadside vendors. The municipality should settle these issues so as to ease our traffic woes,” said locals Ranasatyakam Senapati and Sudhanshu Rana. They also alleged goat slaughtering done rampantly even when the municipality had banned such activities.
Sources said, around 80 rooms have been constructed in the morning market but their shutters have started rusting after lying unused for a long period of time.Municipality chairperson Krushnananda Mohanty said, “The security amount has been revised since most vendors might not be able to afford it. The municipality has decided to reduce it to Rs 2 lakh however it is yet to be officially intimated to the vendors,” he said adding, the rooms in the market will be provided to vendors by October 2023.