Mangal Bazaar traders oppose railing installation

Vadodara: Traders in the Mangal Bazaar area of the city have objected to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) putting up railings in the market. Those having shops in the area held demonstrations forcing VMC to stop work.
VMC had taken up a major drive of clearing encroachments in Mangal Bazaar recently. It decided to put up railing along the divider of the road so that street vendors did not encroach on the road again. The civic body is looking to ensure that traffic flows on the road smoothly.
The shopkeepers, however, objected to the erection of railings stating that these would hamper traffic movement. VMC workers began digging holes in the road for erecting the railings on Tuesday morning. As soon as work began, shopkeepers in the market gathered on the street and held demonstrations.
In wake of the heightened tempers, the civic body has decided to suspend the work for now. The shopkeepers had on Monday evening met standing committee chairman Satish Patel and on Tuesday morning too met VMC officials to take up the issue.