Hyderabad: Mahboob Gunj reopens after 26 days

Hyderabad: Malakpet's Mahboob Gunj which was closed following occurrence of a few COVID-19 cases and remained under lockdown as a containment zone saw the return of normalcy after a gruelling period of 26 days for the residents.

One of the oldest markets in the city, famous for wholesale supply of onions, chillies and other food essentials, it was sealed for almost a month, triggering protests by traders and merchants a week back. In the month of April, reports of two positive cases prompted the authorities to seal gates much to the discomfort of traders who expressed worry about stocks being unattended to for days. They alleged that despite completion of quarantine period the whole market remained sealed by the authorities.

On Tuesday following the active intervention of Malakpet MLA, Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala, GHMC agreed to reopen the market. "After the MLA took up the matter with GHMC Zonal Commissioner (Charminar) Ashok Samrat, it was unlocked amidst huge presence of police and GHMC staff who also started numbering (Odd Even) numbering at shops," said one of the traders.

This development comes after MLA along with Zonal Commissioner and other officials conducted a review meeting with market traders and kirana merchants at Shimla Garden and explained to them about the government and GHMC norms. Later, it was decided to open under strict norms and market's traders and merchants also assured that they would follow the orders and norms imposed by GHMC.

Ahmed Balala said that the Mahboob Gunj was sealed as part of precautionary measures and to stop the spread of deadly virus. "Out of over 1000 cases reported from the city, 140 are from Malakpet constituency. As part of safety precautions, the GHMC decided to seal the market for an extra period and now it was reopened after 26 days, on condition that only 30 per cent shops shall open on any day," he added.

It may be mentioned here that on May 18, traders at Malakpet Gunj protested at the market demanding opening of the gates, which remained sealed for almost three weeks by then. Fearing huge loss due to rotting of agriculture produce and grocery, the traders had requested the Market committee and GHMC authorities to open market, where truckloads of agriculture produce such as onion and chilli arrive from neighbouring states.