Pradip Saha, a 63-year-old coconut seller, has never found it so hard to make ends meet. Interestingly, it is not directly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are vegetable sellers. Life has not treated us well ever. But, what they did to us has made living so difficult,” said Mr. Saha, a father of three. To stop the spread of COVID-19, a big market in south Kolkata was shifted overnight. The action has uprooted over 500 vendors, including Mr. Saha, who sell daily consumables. The vendors are now relocated in the open on the highway connecting south Kolkata to the airport.
“First, COVID-19 took away lives. Now, the administration is snatching our livelihood,” Mr. Saha said, carrying dozens of coconuts from a field. Standing by the field, some vendors explained their plight.
“They [the Kolkata Municipal Corporation] first planned to shift us to this field. It is not big enough to accommodate the sellers; if the buyers come, there won’t be any space at all. But they shifted us here, reasoning that it was meant to avoid crowding at Kasba market,” said a relatively prosperous vegetable seller.
But the nightmare came when the market was set up. Thunderstorms hit the city and left the field flooded. A canopy was erected, but the thunderstorm returned on the night of May 5.
A few vendors listed their losses. “I lost 25 kg of puffed rice,” said one. A woman said she lost 100 eggs, and two brothers said they lost plenty of vegetables. Nearly everyone had lost something which would have “a huge impact because the market is down.” The vendors resfused to give their names fearing “backlash” from the Bazar committee run by the Trinamool Congress (TMC).”
Bijan Lal Mukherjee, TMC councillor of Ward 67 who planned the relocation, denied the allegation. “The objective is to save people’s life or consumables,” he said. Asked how a mid-sized football field could have ensured the safety of a few thousand consumers and vendors, he argued that the field is 13,000 square feet.
“I had a proper plan which could have ensured the safety of all, but the rain spoiled everything. It is bad luck,” he said.
A TMC supporter put the plan down to the “differences” between former CPI(M) member Swapan Chakravarty, who was with the TMC previously, and Mr. Mukherjee. “The field is controlled by Mr. Chakravarty, while Mr. Mukherjee wants to take control of it. He shifted the market and the people suffered,” he said.
Mr. Mukherjee said his party had nothing to do with the decision.
