Moran locals slam municipality over unchecked roadside markets

Sivasagar, Nov 22: The residents of Moran have been observing with concern the uncontrolled expansion of meat and fish vendors’ markets to the sides of the AT Road passing through the town, even though every town committee needs to specify areas or permanent sheds for selling these items.

Despite several complaints from the local people, the Moran Municipality Board is allowing the vendors to sell meat and fish in the open, which contributes to polluting the environment of the town. The Moran co-district administration, on its part, appears to have no specific town development plans.

The expansion of the AT Road in the town area, done at the initiative of Cabinet Minister Jogen Mohan, had eased the traffic congestion with wide parking slots on either side of the road. However, when the town committee allowed the meat and fish vendors to occupy the open areas, the same traffic chaos returned, with no parking slots left for the vehicle owners who pay heavy road taxes every year.

Tapaswini Borthakur, a housewife of the area in front of the Kali Mandir crematorium, told this correspondent that they cannot come out of their residence as their entrance is blocked by the vendors, and the whole environment has been polluted as the vendors dump the remains of the fish and meat on the roadside. The local residents have reported the matter to the authorities concerned a number of times but to no avail, she added.

Trailukya Chetia, a senior journalist of the town, told this correspondent that a totally chaotic situation has developed in the town despite development of the infrastructure and civic facilities.