As the seasonal fruits like Mangoes, Jackfruits, Pineapples and Blackberries arrive with
the Monsoon rains, hundreds of traders, mostly students and others with blessings from
powerful quarters have set up shops on the pavements in Station Road, Kodomtoly,
Bondor, Zindabazar, Amborkhana, Shibgonj, Tilagor, Mirabazar, Rikabibazar, and
Subidbazar.
Their makeshift shops are luring the customers with banners containing the slogans
like ‘chemical-free mangoes’ from Chapainawabganj, the capital of mangoes.
Their presence has put other vendors vying for space in the crowded narrow pavements,
leaving no room for the pedestrians, the real users.
Though they are cheating the people with so called “chemical free” slogans but there
are none to take care of them or even keep the pavements free of encroachers. Because a
little ‘gift’ of juicy large mangoes and handshakes containing some currency notes keeps
the law enforcers away by these new occupiers of the pavements.
They also whisper a few words like so and so ‘big’ brother owns the shop. The name is
enough to drive the enforcers away. But people suffer. Experts say there is fruit which
does not come to the city market without being dipped in ‘medicines’ like formalin or
certain chemicals sprayed into the mango gardens and bananas like Calcium Carbides
and other chemicals to ripen and formalin to help mangoes and all other fruits with long
shelf life.
So these new occupiers are committing twin crimes like setting up shops in the
pavements and selling chemically treated fruits which causes many complications to
consumers’ health, even to the lawenforcers. Beware, the fruits are not ‘chemical’ free
and occupying pavements are illegal, a punishable offence. Does anybody care?
-OurCorrespondent
