Over 12,000 people visit the 400 stalls in the Rythu Bazaar at the Swaraj Maidan but basic facilities like drinking water are not available and the toilets have no doors, said Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Raghuveera Reddy. He visited it on Tuesday in response to public complaints.
Those who wanted to have a sip had to purchase it at ₹30 a bottle.
The market that was in the vicinity of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s camp office was stinking because of poor sanitation. The Chief Minister incidentally was convenor of the panel on Swachh Bharat, Mr. Raghuveera Reddy commented. Though it was called a Rythu Bazaar, farmers were selling their produce in only 150 shops. Commission agents and traders were selling vegetables in the remaining 250 shops, he said. These was no check on the number of non-farmers at the farmers market, he said.
Poor quality vegetables and farm produce was being sold. The sanitation was very poor with slush making things worse. The officials in-charge of the market reportedly said they were making a profit of ₹6 lakh to ₹7 lakh a month.
“For whose sake are they running a market without any facilities? What is happening to the lakhs of rupees profit?” the PCC chief asked.