Mumbai: As BMC razes market, fish traders say they’ve nowhere to go

Demolition going on at Chatrapati Shivaji Market near CSMT. Pics/Suresh Karkera

The ongoing demolition of the Chatrapati Shivaji Market near CSMT has riled fish traders and fisherwomen who have alleged that the BMC has not given them another space. The structure is being razed as part of a redevelopment plan that was in limbo for the past six years.

Following the collapse of a building at Dockyard road where municipal employees and their families had lost their lives, the market was taken up for demolition in 2014. While four floors of the building were pulled down, the ground floor and the basement were left out. For the past four days, the remaining structure is being demolished.

The fish traders who are involved in import and export and also the local fisherwomen said they had been doing their business at the market for several years and that they have nowhere to go. They said the BMC continued with the demolition despite their protest. They claimed the BMC is supposed to provide them with makeshift tents at the same place until the fish bay at the Crawford Market is completed.

The traders said Mayor Kishori Pednekar and local MP Arvind Sawant had instructed officials to give them space during a meeting last week. They also said that the BMC didn't spend even a penny on the ground floor and basement of the structure despite it being repairable.

A trader told mid-day, "Had the BMC carried out repairs they could have easily saved the existing structure. We will be given a place at the Crawford Market's new wing, but with BMC's lack of intent in saving us, we now have nowhere to go."

The trader added, "We are waiting for our alternative accommodation as BMC has submitted an affidavit in the High Court that they would give us accommodation within a month or two at the same place after demolition until we are shifted to the new fish market building opposite us."

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Mrudula Aande could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

2014
When 4 floors of the structure were razed