Hyderabad: Artisans and craftsmen at the Shilparamam night bazaar have been crying foul over the closure of three entrance gates to the crafts village.
They are also alleging that they are being arm twisted to vacate the complex by cutting off power and water supply to 106 occupants of the night bazaar.
Occupants have been asked to vacate the premises due to the lease period coming to an end, but they are not ready as the night bazaar is now gaining popularity.
Of the 105 night bazaar outlets, 50 were given out on lease and the tender period expired on April 30. While the authorities have asked the tenants to vacate the premises and to call for fresh tenders, most tenants are unwilling to vacate.
“We have been here for the last 11 months of which for the first nine months the business remained slow and we were running at losses. It is only now that the business has picked up and we do not want to vacate the shops. But now at this juncture we are being forced to close down by snapping off water supply, drinking water supply as well as power supply. There are some SC, ST workers and women employees who are very poor and they will be impacted if we have to vacate,” said K. Rajeshwari, President of Women’s Welfare and Skill
Development Society, who runs two eateries in the night bazaar. Authorities have been resorting to closing the entrance gates since the last two months.
