HYDERABAD: The authorities’ announcement to shift Kothapet Fruit Market to a temporary location at Batasingaram has left commission agents aggrieved, who now face an uncertain future. Ram Mohan, a commission agent, wondered how they could be relocated without establishing the necessary infrastructure and facilities at Batasingaram, or at Koheda, where the new permanent market was supposed to be constructed in 178 acres.
According to C Narasimha Reddy, Secretary Grade-II, Agricultural Market Committee, two sheds, an RO plant, 30 restrooms, a canteen, dormitories for farmers, an administrative office and a bank extension counter are already in place at the 11 acre land leased by the market committee at Batasingaram, by paying Rs 15 lakh per month. However, the commission agents dispute this claim.
The logjam between the State government and the commission agents dates back to 1986, when the fruit market was relocated from Jambagh to Kothapet, following which agents had approached courts then too. Even now, agents are apprehensive about whether they would be allotted space in the new location and whether their licenses would be valid.
Of the 342 licences issued to commission agents, 186 were issued this year itself. The market committee has made it clear that those holding licences without having a physical establishment in the market would not be accommodated in the new market, which has been a tipping point in the dispute between the two parties. However, it is not clear as to why they were issued licences in the first place.
The ones most affected by the relocation are the daily-wage labourers and hawkers, who have settled in localities close to the market. “Our contractor calls us at night, asking us to come for loading and unloading work, which we carry out all night. How can we now travel all the way to Batasingaram at 11 pm?” asked daily-wage labourers Vijaya and Bharathi, who are now contemplating to shift to Batasingaram along with their families.
Not just the hawkers and retail fruit vendors, but all those in the supply-chain, including consumers, will now have to shell out extra bucks to compensate for the rise in transportation costs for local vendors, who will have to travel to Batasingaram here on. Perhaps, this is the trade-off between the government and the citizens for getting a super-speciality government hospital in Kothapet.
TUSSLE SINCE 1986
The logjam between the State government and the commission agents dates back to 1986, when the fruit market was relocated from Jambagh to Kothapet, following which agents had approached courts then too