CUTTACK: A day after Cuttack-Barabati MLA Sofia Firdous alleged large-scale irregularities and corruption in allotment of shops at the Barabati Food Court, a group of food vendors submitted a memorandum to the mayor Subash Singh and commissioner of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Kirandeep Kaur Sahota seeking rehabilitation through provisioning of shops there.
The vendors, whose names do not figure in the enumeration list for shop allotment, warned that they would be forced to move the court if they were deprived of their right. The vendors said they had been running makeshift food stalls near Barabati Stadium for several years and depended on the business for their livelihood. They were evicted from the site in 2023 by the CMC with an assurance of permanent rehabilitation in the food court. At the time of eviction, officials had collected documents such as Aadhaar cards, food safety licences and vendor identity cards along with photographs of their stalls, they said.
The vendors alleged that they have since been facing hardship after shifting their businesses to nearby localities. “It is a matter of regret that our names are missing from the list published by the CMC for allotment of shops at the Barabati Food Court,” the memorandum said.
They alleged that despite meeting the CMC commissioner earlier and apprising her of the issue, no action has been taken so far. Sahota had assured them of considering their problems and take necessary steps, but nothing has been done, they complained.
“Since we had been running the makeshift food business at that place for the last 10 to 15 years, we are requesting you to allot shops to us at Barabati Food Court. If, we are deprived of the shops due to nepotism and unfairness means, we will be compelled to move to the court,” the vendors warned in the memorandum.
Attempts to contact Sahota for a response were unsuccessful. However, mayor Singh said that the allotment process was being carried out in a transparent manner.