As deadline to vacate Army land ends today, Tibet market shopkeepers seek refuge in alternative site
Another shopkeeper Jain said that their group's only demand is some land in any civil area where they can be rehabilitated or else their “kids and elderly will die of hunger.
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At the Tibet market of Kasauli on Sunday evening. (Express File Photo) With the deadline for the removal of 21 illegal shops at Pine Mall (popularly known as the Tibet market of Kasauli) to come to an end tomorrow, the shopkeepers have started the process of vacating shops and removing structures put up by them in the army land. Meanwhile, the shop owners, now moving from pillar to post, have requested the Solan administration to provide them with an alternate place to put up their shops so that their only source of livelihood is not taken away.
It was after the Himachal Pradesh High Court orders that the 21 illegal shops that were there for around four decades on army land were to be removed by August 28. After meeting a delegation of these shopkeepers who requested an alternative place to put up their shops, a Kasauli MLA is planning to convert the old-vacated police station site of Kasauli into a Buddist temple with various vendors and the New Tibet market to come up around it.
“The delegation of the Tibet market shopkeepers met me regarding an alternative site. I will take up the matter on priority and will ensure that all possible help is provided to them at the earliest for rehabilitating them,” Vinod Sultanpuri, MLA, Kasauli, said. The MLA added that he will meet the Himachal Pradesh chief minister along with such shop owners to work out a solution.
“There is an old police station site in Kasauli which is presently vacant since the police station Kasauli has been shifted to new location. I intend and have a vision to convert this site into a Buddhist temple with various vendors and a new Tibet market to come up around the temple. But there are a lot of formalities and procedures to be done before that which we are working upon,” the MLA further said.
‘Rehabilitate us or kill us’
Meanwhile, many shopkeepers were seen removing their belongings and temporary sheds where the shops were running till date. “Rehabilitate us or kill us. Our only source of livelihood for the past four decades is going away now,” Bhupinder Jain, one of the shopkeepers of the Tibet market said. He added that they are running from pillar to post requesting various authorities so that they can continue their businesses from a new place and their livelihood remains intact.
Another shopkeeper Jain said that their group’s only demand is some land in any civil area where they can be rehabilitated or else their “kids and elderly will die of hunger”. “Also in the last few months, due to the incessant rains in Himachal, we had zero tourist inflow because of which we no zero income,” Jain added suggesting the severity of their troubles.
Solan Deputy Commissioner Man Mohan Sharma told The Indian Express that the delegation have met him on Saturday, and have requested for an alternative place near old bus stand area or any other suitable area in civil land where they could put up their shops. “We are in the process of approaching the Kasauli Cantonment Board for providing a suitable place for these shopkeepers,” he said.
What happened
A local resident had moved the high court over the encroachment in Pine Mall and filed a PIL, claiming that as many as 21 shops have been constructed illegally. The high court had given four weeks time to the shopkeepers of the Tibet market to vacate the army land. According to orders, the illegal shops were to be removed by August 28 following an undertaking submitted by the shopkeepers.
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