A day after nearly 100 unauthorised structures were demolished during an eviction drive at Lake Chowmuhani market in Agartala, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha Friday said the drive was required for the development of the area and the matter should not be politicised. The eviction drive was carried out by the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The chief minister also argued that similar demolition drives were carried out during the erstwhile Left regime. The demolition drive had invited sharp criticism from the Opposition CPI(M). Manik Sarkar, former chief minister and CPI(M) leader, who visited the market on Thursday, claimed people were not given any prior notice of eviction. Sarkar demanded that the government provide financial support to the evicted traders. “Those were temporary shops. After visiting the area, we found that they had demolished their shops and also looted materials. These traders should be provided financial support so that they could look after their families. I also ask Left Front activists to continue their movement till those traders are provided alternative arrangements,” said Sarkar. Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury also visited the area Friday and said they would raise the issue in the coming Assembly session. “This kind of incident is inhuman. This government speaks about Viksit Bharat, and sushasan… Not only at Lake Chowmuhani market, several people at many places in the state and the country are doing their business by erecting temporary structures on government land as the government failed to provide an alternative arrangement for them. We are not against development. But this is inhuman and we shall raise our voice against it,” Chaudhury added. Reacting to the issue, AMC Mayor Dipak Majumder said they received complaints that some traders were running their businesses by blocking roads. “We surveyed the market twice and found nearly 100 shops were illegally doing business without any trade licence and, above all, they were about to make permanent structures on the embankment of the Katakhal River. We have also discussed this (issue) with Bazar Samiti… We need one month for cleaning and renovating the market,” the mayor said. He added that the traders who were evicted would be given opportunities to conduct business legally. Majumder further said, “They (the Left) supported illegal traders who were evicted earlier. I don’t know what they will say now… I hope they will cooperate. The state government and AMC are jointly working to keep the markets clean.” Earlier, eviction drives were conducted at Battala market and Maharajganj market in the state capital.
