Traders federation threatens strike to demand immediate opening of Koyambedu market

The Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders’ Associations called for a strike on Monday, August 10, to demand the immediate opening of the Koyambedu market, which was closed in the first week of May after it was found that the sprawling premises had been a source of Coronavirus infection.

Office-bearers of the Federation held a meeting in Chennai on Tuesday to discuss the closure of the market that had caused hardship to thousands of traders dealing in vegetables, fruits and flowers, besides leading to tonnes of perishable goods going to waste every day.

The Federation president A M Vikrama Raja said that all vegetable, fruit and flower markets in the state would be closed on Monday and that they would intensify the agitation by going for an indefinite strike in the event of the government not acceding to their demand.

If traders in markets all over the State heed to the call for the strike on a Monday, members of the public would be severely affected as the preceding day would be a day of complete lockdown. People would have to stock up on vegetables and fruits for two days on Saturday itself.

Alleging that the government was making no efforts to reopen the market even after he had, along with other office-bearers of the Federation, met the Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam at the Secretariat and presented a memorandum, he said he failed to understand as to why there was such an inordinate delay in opening the market even after the traders gave an assurance that they would follow safety norms and adhere to social distancing rules without fail.

It had also been explained to the government that the alternative market site at Thirumazhisai was not a suitable venue and tonnes of goods were going waste.

Besides the Koyambedu market, many other smaller markets across the State were closed and traders asked to shift to other venues following the outbreak of the pandemic. Vikrama Raja wanted all of them to be reopened for the traders and consumers now that the threat from the Coronavirus spread has come down.

Meanwhile, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Kamaraj, who inspected the Koyambedu market, told the media that the Chief Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswamt would take a call on reopening the market after the Covid-19 infections go down.