Thoubal, Dec 16 : The irate women vendors of Wangjing New Market blocked the Wangjing–Heirok road in front of Wangjing New Market on Tuesday, protesting the delay in road construction.
At around 1 pm, the protesters sat on the road, disrupting traffic, and demanded that the road construction be completed at the earliest.
According to the protesters, the stretch of road in front of Wangjing New Market has been in poor condition for several months, causing inconvenience to women vendors. They said they have been victims of dust-borne diseases like influenza, throat pain, and others. They added that despite repeatedly reminding the concerned authorities to repair the area, nothing positive has happened till today.
Later, a police team led by the Officer-in-Charge of Thoubal Police Station, Inspector Sapam Ibomcha, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Tekcham Somen of Wangjing Out Post was present at the scene and spoke to the protesters, assuring them that the contractor would be asked to expedite the work. They also assured the protesters that the contractor would be asked to spray water in the area daily until the construction work is completed. Following this, the protest came to an end at around 2.10 pm.
One of the protesters, Laishram Shanti, said that the road is in a terrible condition and is causing inconvenience to the women vendors. She added that the police have assured them that their demands will be fulfilled within a few days, as the contractor has promised to do the needful.
It may be mentioned here that on November 29 last, the women vendors of Wangjing New Market gave a five-day ultimatum to repair the area and warned the concerned authorities that they would block the road if their demands were not fulfilled.
