Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 25:
The historic Khwairamband Bazar, popularly known as Ima Market, has been razed to the ground this morning amid tight security to make way for constructing a new market complex.
The New Bazar and the Laxmi Market will be also be pulled down one after another subsequently for the same purpose.
The three markets will reconstructed to suit the changing time with fund from Union Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.
After finally working out an agreement with all the groups which were opposed to the construction of the proposed market complex, one JCB was pressed into service for pulling down the Ima market at around 10 am today.
The foundation stone of the aged-old market turned out to be too tough for the machine and it took quite a long time in grounding it.
As the historic market was razed to the ground, a large number of people collected at the site and took away whatever their hands could lay on from the iron pillars to other building materials.
Even as the Khwairamband Market, which has been an important centre of economic activities of the State was being reduced to a heave of rubbles, a large number of women vendors lodged strong protest against lack of adequate plots to accommodate all of them in the temporary market shed.
Around 200 of them who were selling Gold and Silver ornaments at the Ima Market stayed a sit in protest since early morning today.
The angry protestors said that they would continue with the agitation till they were given plots in the temporary market shed.
The angry protest of the womenfolk prompted the PDA chairman K Ranjit to rush to the market and tried his best to convince them of accommodating all of them.