Some 15 vendors who plied their trade at the Parika Market complex, which was destroyed by a fire in February have taken up temporary spots over the weekend and will remain there until the construction of the facility is complete.
In an invited comment on Monday, Regional Chairman Inshan Ayube told the News Room that the spots were assigned to the vendors following a meeting on Saturday.
According to Ayube, preference was given to vendors who had stalls inside the market at the time of the fire.
“We were able to place some of them in the collapsible tent where they can close up and move it in the evening. We give preference to the people who were burn down in the market,” Ayube said.
The vendors are being housed on a street adjacent to the market which was recently rehabilitated by the Ministry of Public Works.
Ayube said the street can accommodate approximately 30 vendors.
And, works are currently ongoing at another section to facilitate strictly food vendors.
“We try our utmost to make sure that they go back to a lil earning…I think they are comfortable for now because they are waiting on the market to complete. It’s a temporary something. All of them will be allocated back spot in the market,” Ayube told the News Room.
The fire occurred around 15:14hrs on February 10, displacing scores of vendors.
The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) had said due to high winds and the clustering of the area, the entire building and its contents were destroyed by the time the fire was brought under control.
A GFS investigation later revealed that the fire was caused by residue from a welding torch that fell into a storage bond and ignited nearby combustible materials.
Last week, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall had told the News Room that the Parika Market will be rebuilt within the next four months by construction firm, Panko Steel Fabrication and Construction, at no additional cost to the Government.
Dharamall had said there has been no contract re-arrangement with the company that was initially awarded the contract to construct the second phase of the market.
As such, he noted that the market will be rebuilt with funds allocated for the rehabilitation project.
The company will therefore have to offset any additional expense, he said.
“The earlier contract would have been five months, but now they have to clear the land and so I think we would need three to four months,” Dharamall had told News Room.
Works have already begun.
Last month, Demerara Bank announced that it is granting special loans to those vendors whose businesses were gutted by the fire.
In a press release, the bank said the special loans offered by the bank are concessional loans, which essentially offer the vendors more favourable terms than they would normally get.
