Vegetable traders at the Netaji Market near the Vellore Fort have demanded dustbins in the market area.
The traders, numbering around 500, complained that piling up of rotten vegetables in the market was causing health issues, besides attracting rodents.
Thiagarajan (72), who has been doing business at the market for close to 55 years, said, “I dispose of about 5 kgs of rotten vegetables everyday and these vegetables stink after sometime, affecting the whole area.”
The mounting vegetable wastes bring cattle into the market, causing a lot of inconvenience to the public, he added.
President of the Vellore Town Netaji Market Vegetable Traders Association, A Balu said,“Around 500 tonnes of vegetables are brought into the market everyday, of which 15 to 20 tonnes of vegetables are wasted.”
He said a lorry was being brought twice or thrice a day to the market to clear the garbage, but the wastes get piled up in front of every shop till the lorries take them away. This affects business as people do not visit the market due to the stench caused by the garbage, besides increasing the workload of the civic body workers, who collect the wastes, the traders said.
“If the bins are provided at the market, it will be easy for the workers to collect it from the bins,” said Balu, who wanted at least six bins to be kept at different junctions within the market.
He also demanded that two dustbins be placed behind the market area immediately.