The vendors from the Sunday Market Association met the mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ and some senior officers of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) here on Friday, seeking solution to their demand for alternate site for the Sunday market which was stopped in the aftermath of the High Court ruling to remove encroachment in the city. Around 200 vendors came and expressed their anguish over the Sunday market not being allowed to be held for months. They reiterated their demand that the civic body must allot an alternate place for them so that they can earn their living as earlier. They met the mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ and municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey and urged them to do something for them so as to enable them to survive. The officers assured them that something would be done to help them out of the crisis.
Nadim Mohamed, a member of the association, said, “We are trying hard to reach every possible officer we can, but nothing so far has been done for us. The mayor called us to discuss the matter and but as usual, there was no solution. The officer said that they would try to place us near Kacheri Road and near Bindal but no approval in writing was given to us so far.”
Mohamed Haroom, another vendor of the association said, “We are wondering what is in store for us. The civic body must make its stance clear on the issue. If they say ‘no’ we would accept it and explore other livelihood options. But they are maintaining an intriguing silence.”
The vendors further alleged that the officials are passing things on to one another. They said that the MCD officers are deliberately dragging the impasse in their wait for the enforcement of the model code of conduct. “Once it is enforced things would be shoved on to the backburner,” one of the association members said.