Govind Sharma
JAMMU, July 30: Parade Sabzi Mandi which caters to the vegetable needs of old city people besides other commuters, has been facing the apathy of the Municipal Corporation Jammu, as there are no sheds to protect the vegetable sellers and customers from scorching heat in summer and rains in monsoon season.
Though most of the vegetable sellers had been allotted shops in the Municipality building in the Mandi where they could store their articles in the night and take shelter during rains, others are bound to face the ire of the nature in the form of rains in the monsoon season as they have been allotted open space in the Mandi to run their business.
The Monsoon season which may be boon for the others, is a bane for these vegetable sellers, as they find no place to take shelter during rains, which is a routine in the ongoing season.
“We have to face many difficulties in the rainy season, even the tarpaulins don’t prove to be of any use during torrential rains accompanied by thunderstorm. The problems don’t stop there, as there are no sheds so during rains the customers rarely visit the Mandi, as it becomes impossible for them to traverse through sluggishness of path, which is broken at many places”, one of the vegetable seller told Excelsior.
During monsoon season, many a times the water enters into our shops and spoils our vegetables, as most of the shops are located below the ground level of the Mandi area, a fruit seller said.
Even after rains, one has to become extra cautious while walking through the Sabzi Mandi as path becomes too slippery thereby inviting any untoward incident, he added. Very few people prefer to come to the Mandi during rains and generally opt to purchase the vegetables and fruits from rehriwalas and vegetable shops outside the Mandi and we have to face losses, he further said.
It is disappointing that in the whole Mandi there is not even a single dustbin, due to which the vegetable and fruit sellers are bound to throw the waste and spoiled vegetable and fruits in the open, which create a bad impression on the minds of the customers and also give invitation to various diseases. The president of the Mandi, Subhash Sharma said though the drainage system in the Mandi is good but rains play havoc in the Monsoon season as the rain water enters into our shops and spoil every thing which is kept in shops thereby causing loss of thousands of rupees every year.
Our shops are too old and need immediate repair and in this regard we have approached many times to Municipal Commissioner, Jammu, but no attention has been paid to our demand, Sharma said.
When contacted Joint Commissioner, JMC, Kapil Sharma, said, “it is true that the shops in the Mandi need renovation, but it is impossible for us to afford renovation of these shops as it require a good amount but what we are getting from these shopkeepers in the form of rent is a petty amount ranging from Rs 250 to 350 per month. So presently there is no proposal of renovation of these shops but we are working on the line to bring improvement in Sabzi Mandi area”.
On the non-availability of dustbins in the Mandi, Health Officer, JMC, Dr Vinod Sharma, said that though there is not enough space to place dustbins, yet we are thinking about it and will soon create some space for putting in place three or four large dustbins, which will help in maintaining cleanliness in the area”.
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