AG Market was shut from Monday to Wednesday this week. Its 50-odd shopkeepers went on strike demanding better maintenance and renovation from its custodian, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.
Unlike most other block markets, AG Market is not circular in shape. In fact, it’s not even under a single roof. It is a cluster of individual shops right next to Baisakhi Island. But there is neither a unifying shed above their heads nor a boundary wall around it.
“Our market is 35 years old and has not had Corporation workers come for maintenance in 20 years,” said vice-president of AG Local Traders Association, Bijoy Kumar Roy. “We vendors are forced to spend our own money to keep things running. What are we paying rent for then?” he demands.
The walkways between the stores are broken with bricks having come loose. Rainwater collects in the puddles. “The roofs are leaking, the lampposts are dark and chunks of ceiling are falling off. One such chunk fell on a photocopy machine in one of the stores and destroyed it,” says secretary Tapan Kumar Dutta.
Netai Debnath, who runs a cosmetics store, has seen several customers trip and fall on the broken passages, with some even requiring stitches on their heads.
“And our electric meter room was in such a perilous state that we had to spend Rs 3.5 lakh from our own pockets to get it repaired last year,” adds Dutta. “God forbid if a fire breaks out, we don’t even have a reservoir to run to for water.”
Barun Chakraborty, who runs a stationery store, says the toilets are miserable. “Without a boundary wall we have stray cats and dogs walking in and out at will. How do the eateries maintain hygiene like this?” he asks.
“Without a shed overhead, customers get drenched in the rain.”
Without a boundary wall around the market, stray dogs and cats wander in, making it difficult for vendors to maintain hygiene Brinda Sarkar
Roy points out that malls and online stores are eating into their business. “The few customers who continue to come to us do so out of personal relations. But they will stop if we cannot even ensure their safety,” he says.
Chakraborty is counting the losses they are incurring with the three-day strike. “Even with the shops shut there are salaries to be paid and refrigerators that have to be kept running so electric bills are rising. But we had to go on strike as no amount of meetings and letters is translating to action,” he says, adding that they have approached everyone from the councillor to the MLA for help.
Respite, sooner or later
Rajesh Chirimar, mayoral council member in charge of markets, said he is aware of the issues at AG Market and has a plan to not only repair it but also introduce novelties.
“Unless retail stores up their game they will be crushed by online ones so innovation is a must,” says Chirimar, reading out a list of plans for AG Market.
“The leaking roofs will be repaired, the pathways between the shops will be covered on top and the ground beneath will get paver tiles, the toilet blocks will be repaired, boundary walls and gates will be installed and the water supply will be tended to.”
He also wants to create a play area for kids and provide free wifi and trolleys for shoppers. “We shall get the calibrations at shops checked, provide ample fire-fighting equipment and put a check on cooking inside all markets. There are shops that cook without permissions and precautions,” he says.
But Chirimar is unable to commit a time frame to all this. “All 16 markets under the Corporation have been assessed. GD Market was in dire straits so we got it renovated first. Next on the list are AB-AC Market, Karunamoyee Market and AG Market. The deputy mayor Anita Mondal, who is the local councillor, is also pushing for it. But there is a process involved,” he says. “I assure the traders that the work will be done.”
Unrest around
Markets in the AG Block Baisakhi Abasan neighbourhood have been jinxed for years. There was a protest from residents and vendors when the AMP Vaisaakkhi mall was proposed in a public-private joint venture.
Then the hawkers were moved to an empty plot behind the mall and promised space inside it once AMP Vaisakkhi was ready. The mall opened in 2014 but the hawkers are still waiting for their possession certificates. They work out of extremely shabby stalls that frequently fall apart and cause injury to shoppers and traders. These hawkers too have held similar strikes and protests in the past.
But Chirimar did not comment on their status as their makeshift market is not under the Corporation.