By Sushmita Dey
Meerut Cantt, January 27: The vendors of Lohia Nagar Mandi, Meerut have been directed to empty the mandi and temporarily set up their shops on the roadsides to accommodate electronic voting machines (EVMs) machines, in view of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh 2022 elections. Meerut goes to the polls on – in the seven-phase UP elections, but the EVMs will be stored till – ahead of the counting on March 7.
A senior politician will “visit” a locality. In this case, the president, Raj Kumar Sonkar met Commissioner and requested him a safe area with other necessary facilities.
“It feels like someone has snatched our home and thrown us outside on the roads,” said Nawab, a vegetable seller from Hapur. He added, “This shift will be for two months, and here we are sitting without any shelter, on the roads.”
Hailing from different villages near Uttar Pradesh, there are more than 100 to 200 vendors selling vegetables and fruits, from four in the morning till noon. They bring vegetables and fruits from New Delhi Mandi, and some sellers buy from the farmers themselves.
The vendors had been selling produce at the mandi for the last 30 years, and according to them, due to continuous shifts, it’s adversely affecting their businesses. “They have already sought a space in the vacant plots of MDA in Gautam Nagar, behind the market but their demand has not yet been considered by the administration,” Sonkar said.
“It’s been 20 to 25 years in this mandi, and we are still looking for a specific location where we can sit and sell the vegetables. Earlier, we were sitting in a school, but due to heavy rainfall, the area was waterlogged, and then, we were forced to move to another location,” said Surender Kumar.
On being asked the vendors about the issues they’re facing due to the move, Sonu Warti, a retailer of this mandi, said, “We have numerous problems, which one should we talk about.”
He explained how, in the wake of the pandemic, and harsh weather conditions, they don’t have proper sheds and some are sleeping under a tarpaulin. “This mandi area does not even have a proper place to keep the product after the day’s sale,” he added.
One of the vendors said, “We pay tax and rent of the shop at the mandi every month, but still we have to shift, which is not an optimum place for mandi.”
However, the vendors shared how in the previous locations, every time after rain, the roads and the area were used to be filled with garbage and mud. There was also an open dumping area, which adds to the health threat.
“Most of the vendors also suffered from an illness due to the waterlogging and unhygienic mandi sites,” said Mohan Kumar, a vendor.
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