By Shabna Rahman
Vendors selling along the street next to the Hydronie Market at Parika are willing to move to the brand new tarmac with shed, as they would be able to sell in comfort while benefiting from basic amenities.
The structure was built following President Irfaan Ali’s promise to address the concerns of the vendors in the market, that the illegal vending was affecting them. The vendors were distressed that they pay a rent for their stalls, but the road vendors were preventing them from getting enough sales. They had said too that some shoppers would prefer to purchase “on the road and don’t even enter the market.”
Some of the vendors who sell on the street admitted that they owned stalls in the market but they preferred to join the others on the street. On a busy Sunday morning when Stabroek News visited, many vendors lined both sides of the street. Using pop up tents and makeshift stalls with huge umbrellas or tarpaulins that they throw out every week, the vendors displayed items like fish, vegetables, groceries, clothing and haberdashery.
Speaking with Stabroek News while plying their trade, the vendors said they were actually relieved that they would be given a proper place to sell.
Jacklyn, a vendor for over 10 years, said they are exposed to the sun and the rain while selling on the congested street. She said she really wanted “to get a spot in the market because when the rain fall we does get wet out here.” She said the new market would provide more comfort and convenience, especially with the water and washroom facilities.
Milton, a grocery vendor for a “number of years,” said, “I am ok with moving if we move in the right way.”He was not pleased with the way the registration process had taken place. He and the other vendors who sell in front of the side gate, he said, “had no idea they were registering people for this market.”
He pointed out too, “For us to get registered, we had to like fight…. We had to go in there and behave ignorant and stupid, which-in I didn’t feel comfortable doing it but then that’s the way you had to do it. And then they end up taking down we name. So it looks as if we might get space or we might not get space.”
He said, too, that there are about 380 vendors selling along the roadway but he was not sure if the market has the space to accommodate all of them.
The president had made an on-the-spot decision to use one of two playgrounds for the extension of the existing market, which was clearly not adequate.
It was observed though, that both playgrounds have been occupied for the massive project.
The new market consists of a steel shed and includes translucent zinc sheets that allow natural light to flow through. It is equipped with three sanitary blocks with overhead tanks and fitted with solar lights. The vendors’ spots were already demarcated with yellow paint. The market was not yet ready for opening, but the public had a feel of the huge space when they gathered there to register for the cash grant on January 13 and 14. The same day, workers from Zeco Group of Services Inc. were installing solar lights around the structure.
A woman who has been vending for the past 18 years, said, “It is very good to know that we would be coming off the road… because due to us [being] on the road, it causes a lot of traffic…”
She said too, “We are happy! We just want the work to finish fast because we are excited to go in our new market.”
Regional Chairman of Region Three Inshan Ayube told Stabroek News that spots would be allocated to the vendors soon and they would then have to build their own stalls. He could not give an exact date for the opening of the facility.
Another vendor, Rohit, said he has been selling there for a very long time and was happy for the upgrade. He has no problem with building his stall and moving into the market when it is ready.
Another vendor who has been selling for the past 25 years said he does not mind moving to the new market, “but if they make concrete tables, it would be 100 percent better.”
He pointed out that if they had to build their own stalls, “people would make different patterns, just like in the old market… and it would be confusing.”
He believes that concrete stalls would be neater and easier to clean.
A farmer who was there selling his produce said his prices were cheaper and he would get sales because the shoppers look for bargains. He said the stallholders inside were complaining about sales because their prices were more expensive.
Another vendor said that if the government was trying to clear the roadway at Hydronie, then the vendors from the Tuschen market should be removed as well. He argued that those vendors sold along the road everyday, while “we only come out here on Sundays from around 5 am to 2 pm.”
The Hydronie Market is said to be the biggest Sunday market in the country. In fact, it starts from Saturday afternoon, much to the convenience of some shoppers.
