Suresh Ramphul
8 February 2008
Port Louis — It's not the first time that the authorities have promised to the inhabitants of Rose belle a market worth its name. We hear that a huge budget (Rs 25 million) has been earmarked. While they are happy that consideration is given to the project, many are sceptical about it. It is feared that there might be an inauguration ceremony with the usual pomp and publicity, and then people will wait years before work begins. Then, work will stop. Promises will be renewed about the second and third or fourth phases until funds are available.
There's an incomplete stadium in front of the market. Years have elapsed since works began work. In the morning one can find at least ten people walking or jogging. Sometimes school children use it for Sports Day. And, sometimes there's a concert, like the one by Kunal Ganjawala last year. It's not serving its purpose. No tournaments are organised there. People are frustrated that, with a stadium in the village, they still cannot enjoy sports activities, especially football at week-ends.
Why do governments undertake projects to leave them on the way ? People lose patience. They feel they have been taken for a ride. Governments should know that frustrating the public isn't wise.
Rose Belle has never had a market it could be proud of. Earlier it was in the centre but too small for the number of people. People from neighbouring villages come at Rose Belle for shopping.
It was also crowded. With a bus stop facing it, circulation was difficult. Vegetables were never sold in proper conditions.
The market was shifted to its present location, a former garage of Rose-Belle Sugar Estate on Jawaharlal Nehru Link Road. On Wednesdays and Sundays, it's chaotic. One side of the road has no pavement. People walk or cycle on the road making this place dangerous. On rainy days, the market is a total mess. At the entrance, merchants sell fruits, oily cakes, alouda, bread, dholl puri, roti. There's rubbish around a drain just behind the wall. It has been there for long.
It's not very healthy to sell food to people in a dirty environment. "How long are we expected to accept this ?" laments one person "Isn't it time to give us a decent market ? Just because Rose Belle is a village, it doesn't mean we must be treated like this".
One Sunday the traffic is dense and moving at a snail's pace. A man, in his 20s, is crossing the road. He's checking if he has missed purchasing something. His whole attention is focused on his bag. A car is desperately trying to inch forward. Suddenly the man springs around. He's not sure what to do. Go back? Continue to the bus stop? Irritated, the driver shouts something that sounds like he's swearing. The man answers back angrily with an indecent gesture.
You might say it's amusing. It isn't, if you think about it. Had there been a better organisation, there wouldn't have been such a scene that could possibly create trouble at any moment.
On the main road, next to the District Council, there is a shortcut used by many people, including merchants who expose their wares on the ground. One side has an untrimmed bamboo hedge with shrubs, branches, grasses, etc., which doesn't make the place interesting at all. What is more : the whole of this side is polluted with bottles, plastic materials, cans and so on and there's a bad smell. People, perhaps used to it, do as if nothing matters.
The next day scavengers have a hard day cleaning the market itself. A decent market - one that is clean, spacious, well-organised, and with a roof to protect merchants and users from rain, is long overdue.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 L'Express. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
