Thoubal, June 2, 2026 (TBL): After declaring that no tax will be paid to the Thoubal Municipal Council (TMC) and that an intense protest will be launched by shutting down Thoubal Market until TMC cancels the shop license of Vishal Mega Mart, which was recently opened at Zero Kilometer of Thoubal Market, all shops in Thoubal Market have been shut from today, and the market did not open.
According to reports, starting this morning, those who run stalls and shops in Thoubal Market staged a sit-in protest at the market. In the afternoon, the Thoubal Market women vendors marched to the Thoubal Municipal Council office. However, they were stopped by a large police force.
When the Thoubal Market women vendors tried to enter to meet with TMC officials and hold talks, a clash with the police occurred in which one market woman vendor and one woman police officer were injured. The market women vendors reportedly sat blocking the TMC gate.
Irom Subasini, a Thoubal Market woman vendor who participated in the protest, stated that it is very disappointing that there has been no response from the Thoubal Municipal Council (TMC) regarding the protest that the market women vendors have been holding since yesterday. She questioned whether TMC wants the market women vendors and the police to fight, saying that when the market women vendors came to talk to TMC, the police had already locked the gate and were guarding it.
She said the Thoubal Market women vendors’ protest will continue until Vishal Mega Mart Thoubal’s license is revoked.
“We will not pay market tax to TMC. People should not make random comments without understanding the situation where small vendors like us are dying while big businesses are flourishing. For the sake of our children, we are in a position where small businesses are being wiped out, so please do not speak unnecessarily about our pain,” she said.
