Health Minister Banna Gupta meets ousted Mango shopkeepers, assures help in rehab

Jamshedpur: Banna Gupta, the Jamshedpur West MLA and state Health Minister, arrived in Jamshedpur on Wednesday and spoke to the affected mango shop owners who are facing a crisis of livelihood as a result of the destruction of about 250 roadside shops during the latest anti-encroachment drive carried out by JNAC on the instructions of the district administration

The Health Minister gave the shop owners assurances that they will receive rehabilitation. Nonetheless, there was palpable discontent among the affected vendors during the visit as Gupta sidestepped media inquiries.

Concerns concerning the fate of the remaining 205 shop owners were raised when it was found that the Municipal Corporation only intended to rehabilitate 45 of the affected shops.

Since the beginning, there has been a lot of discontent against Health Minister Banna Gupta, with even the district administration rejecting his brother’s request.

Saryu Roy, a Legislator for Jamshedpur East, met with the troubled shop owners on Wednesday in an effort to find a solution.

Workers from the BJM and Congress demonstrated and chanted slogans during his visit.

Roy urged the district administration to ensure openness in the distribution of shops and the rehabilitation of all the impacted shop owners.

In response, Health Minister Banna Gupta said that land would be handed to people who are truly in need, and that the district administration had already been given instructions in this regard.

Gupta acknowledged that different places might be used for rehabilitation.

He added that those who had taken advantage of the situation would be exposed, and that some people were acting more like land mafia than shopkeepers.

The impacted shopkeepers are still waiting for a decision that would enable them to reestablish their livelihoods in the wake of the demolition and anti-encroachment drive as the political drama plays out.