Banned in Kohima, Mao green grocers flock Nagamapal
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, July 03 2015 : About 50 green grocers from Mao in Senapati district have started selling their locally produced items at Nagamapal in Imphal city from Friday.

This comes after the trade embargo in Nagaland a few weeks ago following the standoff between Mao Council and Southern Angami People Organisation (SAPO) arising out of Dz�kou valley impasse.

One Truck, two mini trucks and one bus loaded with vegetables arrived here around 7 am on Friday.

Leaders of several civil society organizations who were already there welcomed them.

They set up their temporary stalls by roofing them with plastic sheets on the road side.

They named the temporary market shed "Mao Displaced People's Market." The 50 Mao vendors then unloaded their goods and started selling them.

On the first day they brought potato, green chilli, squash, cabbages and other delicacies.

Mao is cold throughout the year and the farmers hardly use inorganic farming with the result that there is a heavy demand for the tasty vegetables everywhere.

Banned in Kohima, Mao green grocers flock Nagamapal

Not surprisingly, nearly 90 percent of the vegetables were vended around 12:30 pm.

A number of buyers seen thronging the market shed.

Since the standoff over the Dz�kou Valley the SAPO barred the Mao residents from entering Nagaland and stalling all business activities, Kholi Matia, a vegetable seller, from Mao's Punanamei village said.

The 54-year-old who is a widow used to sell vegetables in Kohima for years.

"We feel very happy that some valley-based organizations have arranged the temporary market shed for us" .

She said, "The sale proceeds in Kohima were over Rs 5,000 per day.

I've stopped this for about a month and I thought I've lost vegetables worth more than Rs 80,000" .

Kholi said she wanted to come to Imphal, but she was quite discouraged as the police and Excise allegedly took a lot of money from street vendors here.

She said Nagaland police and Excise do not take such money from vendors.

But one vendor ticket is taken from Kohima Town Committee by giving Rs 20, she added.

The Mao vendors will come to Nagamapal twice in a week.

The Mao temporary market shed has been arranged under the initiative of International Peace & Socialo Advancement (IPSA), Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA), ACOM-LUP, KANGLAMEI, CLK and League of the Forth World People Kangleipak, Kanglei Ima Lup.

The organizations said they will submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister to allocate a proper market shed for the Mao vendors.