Koli women find new timings of Marol market fishy

Tension prevailed at the 93-year-old Marol Adhwada Bazar, a fish market in Andheri (East), on Thursday when the Koli women reached there at 4 am to start their daily business but found that the gate was locked

Tension prevailed at the 93-year-old Marol Adhwada Bazar, a fish market in Andheri (East), on Thursday when the Koli women reached there at 4 am to start their daily business but found that the gate was locked. On enquiry, they were shocked to learn that the BMC’s new rule allows the market to open only after 2 pm.

Mumbai, India - December 22, 2022: A general view of Marol Fish Market, at Andheri (East), in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, December 22, 2022. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The fisherwomen, however, claimed that while the market’s security team verbally told them that a BMC circular had changed the timings, effective December 1, they are yet to get any such communication.

After an argument between the two parties, the women were finally allowed to enter the market in the morning.

Delay in opening the market will lead to them closing their shops in late hours, which in turn becomes a safety issue, the concerned fisherwomen said.

“The change in timings by the BMC affects the business as well as our safety. Fisherwomen from Aksa, Manori, Arnala, Vasai, Uttan, Palghar, Madh and Versova depend on this market. If the timings are delayed, we do not get enough buyers and by evening we have to sell the fishes at discounted prices. Besides, going by the new timings, some of us will reach home around 1 am,” Rajshree Bhanji, president of Marol market Koli women’s organisation (MMFVKWO), said.

As per old timings, from Thursday till Saturday, the market used to open at 4 am. However, the new circular says the market will be available only after 2 pm on Thursday and after 4 pm on Friday.

The Koli women are also worried that their supply chain will be affected.

Manini Worlikar, a member of Akhil Koli Samaj Sanskruti Samvardhan Sangh, said, “Our organisation has been backing the fisherwomen. The fish vendors, mostly hailing from the traditional Koli community, see these changes in timings as an attack on their traditional source of livelihood. This market is much more than just a place of work for generations.”

On December 20, MMFVKWO sent a letter to Praksh Rasal, assistant commissioner, markets, demanding that the entry for trucks be allowed at 3 am on Thursday so that the business can start at 5 am. However, it is yet to receive any response.

When HT contacted Rasal, he said he is not aware of the issue and he will look into it.

Additional commissioner Asheesh Sharma, under whose jurisdiction the markets department comes, could not be reached despite calls and messages.

Historically, the market was classified as a “weekly market for dry fish” in 1948 by the then Mumbai Suburban district collector. However, the BMC has never followed that order.

“The BMC is also reducing the size of this market by allocating shops to project affected people with ongoing infra projects in the city,” Bhanji said.

The market receives dry fish from across the state and Gujarat. In 2019, 10 fisherwomen were arrested and 14 charges were filed against them after they protested over this issue.