Photos by Aribam Munindrajit
IMPHAL, January 12: The women vendors of Ima Keithel has been left to set up their stalls in the streets after the 4th Jan 2016 Earthquake that left the newly built market shed damaged and unusable. They have been demanding for a temporary shed until a new market shed has been built. It may be recalled that an expert team Indian Institute of Technology, IIT inspected Ima Keithel and reported that the building has developed serious damage and advised against occupying it. The buildings need retrofitting before it can be occupied. They further ruled out complete demolition of the structures as repairing can be done, before pointing out that extended structural intervention will be required.
The women vendors also told the Union Minister, Prakash Javadekar, when he visited Ima Keithel for inspection, that they want new buildings and are not ready to accept the proposal made by the State Government to repair the existing structures. They further urged the Minister to compensate the women vendors for the loss they had sustained from the quake.
In the mean time, rain or shine the women vendors has been struggling to keep their businesses going to meet their daily survival needs.
