Srinagar: The demolition of Makkah Market in the City center, commissioned earlier this year for the rehabilitation of dislocated pavement vendors here, seems to be more of “revenge” than urban development exercise of Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janta Party alliance in the besieged summer capital.
This one infers at least if the woeful tale of the affected 500 odd vendors is taken into consideration. The poor vendors said doing beg, borrow and steal they had spent around Rs 2. 5 crores on the construction of aluminum-framed kiosts to erect the market, at the space allotted to them on the instructions of Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti.
Fayaz Ahmed Bhat, President of Makkah Market, constructed at the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) owned yard this year, said the government demolished the market and took away their goods only because the poor vendors declined to adhere to the diktats of a local MLA and police, who were pressuring them to break the hartal and support PDP from time to time during the ongoing unrest.
Talking to Kashmir Observer, the pavement vendor’s president said soon after the unrest erupted, on July 12, one of the PDP MLAs phoned him asking him to bring atleast 100 vendors to the Martyrs graveyard on July 13, the Martyrs Day, for participation at the rally, which was scheduled to be addressed by Chief Minister, Mehboba Mufti.
“I responded in negative saying we poor people cannot go against the popular sentiment which is to adhere to the protest call,” Bhat said.
He said after a few days, the MLA once again phoned him to bring the pavement vendors for a PDP rally to be held at the party head office later same month. “When we again declined to attend the political rally, complaining that your government has been killing people … But we declined to accept the request,” Bhat said.
He said thereafter the police several times asked them to resume market activities in defiance of the Hurriyat protest calendar. “They first asked us to resume full business from Makkah market. When we declined they asked to resume it to half. When we again declined they expressed willingness to offer space near Mughal Durbar or TRC but that we have to support them this time. But as we expressed inability, they revenged,” the traders said adding police has threatened them to kill them.
“Yesterday we SMC came to demolish our ventures we tried to beg for mercy but police beat us ruthlessly and one of the police officials threatened to kill us,” the vendors said.
Despite repeated attempts the MLA could not be contacted for comments. The accused police official however refuted to have threatened to kill them. “We have filed FIR against them for disrupting it (demolition drive),” the official told Kashmir Observer.
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