BENGALURU: Shopkeepers and commercial establishment owners of Cox Town and Frazer Town staged a protest of a different kind, in East Bengaluru on Monday. They threw all the vegetables and greens on the road. Interestingly, just as the protest was ending, passersby and the police officials gathered at the place where the vegetables were thrown, started collecting everything. The vendors toppled their carts on the road opposite Pulakeshinagar police station to coerce Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into completing the construction of the Cox Town market at the earliest.
Mohammed Zamrood, President of Cox Town Market Association said: “Over 17 years ago, the BBMP vacated us from the dilapidated Cox Town Market saying that a new one will be constructed. However, till date nothing has been done. We have held seven protests and met corporators, MLAs and all BBMP officials, but still nothing has been done,” he said.
The shopkeeper added that they were asked to vacate from the market for a duration of six months till the new one is constructed. “Now, the new complex has been constructed, but we have not been given allotment of the shops in it. We were shifted to makeshift sheds on the footpath and even till date we are there. We pay a monthly rent of Rs 600- 700 to the BBMP for the building complex, which we do not have. Hence, now it feels like we are paying a bribe to the corporation for not vacating us from the footpath,” said another shopkeeper. BBMP Special Commissioner, Markets, Ravindra said that he will look into the matter and that a report will be obtained from the engineers and joint commissioners.