Traders up in arms against builders over textile market management

Surat: Textile traders in the country’s largest man-made fabric (MMF) wholesale market in the city are up in arms against realtors for managing textile markets on Ring Road.
They are angry because security guards at RKT Textile Market at Begumwadi on Ring Road were involved in thefts of saris and dress material from more than 20 shops. The security guards along with gang members from Chattisgarh stole saris and dress material worth Rs90 lakh from the market during night hours in the last two months, sources said.

Police officials said they have nabbed two security guards-Ram Modhvadia and Monu alias Salman- from RKT Textile Market for the thefts. The accused, who were hand in glove with the gang from Chattisgarh, stole goods from the godown of the markets. The traders community has demanded that the management of all the textile markets be handed over to respective market associations.

Lalit Sharma, a textile trader, said, “We have shut the RKT Textile Market from the last four days so that its management is passed on to the traders’ association. We go home believing that security guards will protect our shops, but here they are looting our shops. “

Radhe Shyam Shukla, a trader, said, “Traders will run the day-to-day management of the market right from appointing security personnel to ensuring fire safety provision, etc”

Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) president Manoj Agarwal said, “Barring a few textile markets out of the total 165 markets in the city, majority of them are in the control of builders. The builders raise maintenance and other charges from the shop owners and manage the markets on their own. We want that the management of the markets be handed over to the traders.”

FOSTTA secretary Champalal Bothra said, “There are reputed security agencies, but the builders appoint inexperienced ones to pay them less. In such circumstances, the security guards carry out thefts in the markets. They make duplicate keys of the shops and then steal the goods during night hours.”

City police commissioner Satish Sharma has transferred investigation into three cases of theft at RKT Textile Market to crime branch, acceding to the demand of the textile traders.