 PEOPLE'S CHAMPION … Tiong speaking to one of the hawkers at Pasar Utama Bintulu. BINTULU -The Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) has no immediate plan to renovate the fruits and vegetables section of the Pasar Utama here and hawkers there need not move out. A spokesman for the BDA enforcement section told this reporter yesterday that the authority had recently merely asked the fruit and vegetables hawkers to remove the illegal extensions they had put up. "Our enforcement team did give them a time frame to clear the illegal extensions in the form of used wooden or cardboard boxes for placing merchandise beyond the size of their stalls," he explained. He was speaking in response to an appeal to BDA by several hawkers at the market place for a grace period of two weeks when Bintulu Member of Parliament, Dato' Seri Tiong King Sing visited them last Saturday. The spokesman added that the illegal extensions had caused the market place to be congested and inconvenienced shoppers there. BDA only plans to renovate stalls occupied by fishmongers adjacent to the fruits and vegetables section. Temporary stalls, which were being built for the fishmongers to continue their trade during the renovation would be operational either by the end of this month or early October said the spokesman. He added that the fruits and vegetables hawkers did request for their area to be renovated during a previous dialogue session but BDA had yet to make any commitment on their request. "For the time being, the renovation works would only be on the fish market section and although we also want to give the fruits and vegetable section a facelift, it may not be that soon as it will be subject to feasibility and fund that we have," he added. |