Krishnarajendra Market, the biggest market in the City had no reputation for cleanliness even when there was no garbage crisis.
But now, with the entire City in a twister over the uncleared mountains of garbage, the Fish and Poultry section of the Market has turned a hell-hole of stinking and infectious muck.
Just outside the market, there are huge heaps of garbage in a vacant plot with cows feeding on them at night. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) does not lift the garbage from the Market and hence the vendors are forced to incinerate it themselves, once in a while.
"Bird flu is nothing, worse diseases can be contracted with environment like this. We do not even have customers due to the stench and unhygienic condition of this place," says M D Farooq, owner of SKR Poultry Market. He said that it had been 20 years since the place had been whitewashed.
Even after frequent complaints from the vendors about the filth in the market, the Palike has not been able to provide relief.
"A sum of Rs 90 lakh was sanctioned for cleaning up of this place, but nothing has happened so far. The garbage dump has many worms, some two to three inch in length” says Shan Pasha, the secretary of the Poultry Market.
“The cleaning contractors are supposed to wash the place with water. But it has been almost three months since this place has been cleaned, forget water. Out of the 240 designated staff, only 40 turn up, if at all they come,” says N Rajan, the president of the Poultry Market. He added that the Market has shrunk in size compared to earlier and still the Palike was not managing it well.
"They used to get trolleys to collect waste from each shop, but now we have to dump it outside which is not even lifted regularly," adds Pasha.
The customers at least have the choice of not going to this place but the vendors are in a helpless situation with no one to answer to their repeated requests and complaints.
When food is sold in such environments, the outbreak of diseases should not come as a big surprise.
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