Vendors displaced as earthquake damages all-women market in Imphal

Imphal, Jan 16: The 6.7 magnitude tremor that hit Manipur on January 4 morning causing serious damage to the newly constructed buildings of all-women market in khwairamband bazaar in Imphal, forced about three thousands vendors to do business in the open and without shed.

 The vendors, who earn their living by selling clothes, fish, food items and other household items here, are worried that their livelihood would be affected and they would suffer. “It’s been the hardest time for us. We are sitting on the road side and selling our products. And on the other side vehicles are moving here and there. It is so congested that accident might happen and we might get hurt so, we want to request the government to set up a temporary market as early as possible,”  said Joynita, woman vendor. “We get more customers and more profit when we sell inside the market but now we do not make any profit,” said another vendor Ningombam Bhanu Devi.

The state government invited professors of IIT Roorkee to study the impact of the quake and examine the affected buildings.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar also inspected the damaged Ima Keithel complex and took stock of the situation.

Javadekar expressed shock over damage caused to a building which is hardly 5-years-old when the old buildings in the area remained intact.

“I came here to see because Ima and Laxmi market are very important. There are all women shopkeeper and entrepreneurs. I came to see how it happened that old private buildings of 60 years are untouched and not destroyed and this five-year-old newly constructed and only government building are collapsing and not the private one. Expert will tell about this,” said Javadekar.

“The present situation is dangerous. There are serious damages in the building and the administration has taken the right step in evacuating it. It should not be occupied in its present state. It needs retrofitting before it can be occupied,” said Dr. Yogendra Singh, Professor of Earthquake Engineering, IIT Roorkee.

Following the massive earthquake that left eight dead and over 100 injured in Manipur, the state government has sought a fincial assistance of Rs 500 crore from the Centre for the rehabilitation of the victims as well as reconstruction of damaged properties. (ANI)