Kozhikode

Seeking a reasonable compensation for the traders who are being evicted as part of the proposed Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road widening project, the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) staged a dharna in front of the collectorate here on Wednesday. The protesters claimed that the compensation demands of the traders and their workers in nearly 100 shops were remaining unaddressed.

KVVES leaders, who addressed the sit-in, made it clear that they would resist all the forcible attempts on the part of the Revenue Department to evacuate traders without clearing the compensation claims. According to them, each trader in the project area was entitled to receive a compensation of ₹2 lakh as per the government’s agreement apart from ₹36,000 for each worker who might lose the job.

The protesters led by KVVES district president M. Abdul Salam and general secretary V. Sanilkumar said that the traders who spent a huge fund for the customisation of the interiors for their business were on the verge of a huge loss. They also alleged that the landlords who received the compensation from the government were not ready to share any portion of the aid with the tenants to compensate for the loss.

Dismissing the propaganda that the traders were against the road widening project, the KVVES leaders said no merchants would stand against any development project if their compensation requests were processed the appropriate way. “The traders here are offered a very small compensation amount, but they should get it on time and before the evacuation,” they said.