Kaja Throm in the capital has become a recreational hub for people from all walks of life. Vendors moved to Kaja Throm in July as the renovation of the Centenary Farmer’s Market began. While the move was necessary, some vendors did not foresee having to pay higher rent for their new stalls.
The Kaja Throm has more than 180 stalls. From vegetables and cereals to fast food stalls, the market caters to every need. More than 90 per cent of the stalls are occupied by vendors from the CFM.
They moved here in July on short notice. While the move is temporary, they say they are burdened by higher rent for the stalls with their business not picking up. Most of them were in a dilemma regarding the rent for their stalls as they initially didn’t receive precise directives from the CFM management.
“When we moved here from CFM, they didn’t tell us anything about whether we had to pay rent or not. Only after a month and a half of moving here, the management notified us in the group chat that we have to pay Nu 4,500 a month as rent. We were told to bring rent for a month and a half together. Vendors requested to reduce the rent as it was too high and they reduced it to Nu 3,000. Then we started paying Nu 3,000 a month,” said Nim Gyelmo, a vendor.
Some vendors believed that the stalls were for free as it was also mentioned in one of the papers after the inauguration of Kaja Throm.
“Initially, the Manager and the organisers told us that we may not have to pay rent here, and in case we have to pay, it would be much less. In CFM it used to be Nu 2,200 a month. So, we thought it would be less than that since the space is also small here. We only have nine baskets on the counter,” said Dawa Dem, a vegetable vendor.
For betel nut and incense sticks vendors, the rental is more than twice what they used to pay at the CFM.
I noticed a lot of differences between the two places. At the CFM, the rent was Nu 2,800, whereas the rent is Nu 6,000 here. There is a difference in the sale as well. It was much better there. We pay Nu 6,000 here but we have to survive from it anyhow. There are visitors but no buyers. We earn only about Nu 135 in a day or 500 or 1,000 sometimes, which is frustrating at times. It is troubling as I have to look after my children and it is hard to pay the rent, said Tshering Dema, a vendor.
When BBS tried to reach out to the CFM Manager and Vendors’ representative, it was learned that the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives or DAMC authorises the budget.
According to DAMC, the tent that is pitched to house all stalls belongs to a private company. They pay about Nu 400,000 monthly for the tent and other utility bills from the amount collected from the vendors.
However, it is not only the high rent troubling the vendors, but they are also faced with a bleak business prospect. They attribute this to the wholesalers doing business in front of Kaja Throm in the parking area.
“Since wholesalers who bring goods from villages sell in the parking lot in kilograms, it is problematic. As the wholesalers sell in kilograms, customers don’t come here. It is really hard since we have to pay Nu 3,000 as rent,” said Sonam Dendup, a vegetable vendor.
“A lot of people visited, initially but the number of people coming to the market started to reduce. Most people nowadays only come for a stroll around the market and not to shop,” said Dawa Dem, a vegetable vendor.
They also said that their stalls in Kaja Throm are not secure, especially when there is a power outage.
The move was initially announced for six months. However, it will depend on the completion of the renovation work.
Devika Pradhan
Edited by Sonam