The squawking parrots at the YCDC Markets Department have repeated their pledge to move street vendors from the main avenues of downtown Yangon to a night bazaar.
An official from the department said the new night bazaar with 5,000 shops will open on Strand Road on November 21 and is designated for vendors currently running stalls on Merchant, Maha Bandoola, Anawrahta and Bogyoke roads.
“We have made it convenient for them to sell. Vendors have to sell according to discipline. It is also necessary to store trash clearly and systematically. People who don’t follow the system will be fined,” the official told The Voice.
Each shop will have an area of 32 square feet, and the facility will be lit by 40 area lamps, according to YCDC.
The new Strand Road night bazaar night will be open from 5:30pm to 11pm daily.
YCDC is now collecting a list of vendors from Pazundaung, Botahtaung, Kyauktada, Pabedan, Latha and Lanmadaw townships to invite to the new market.
YCDC has been making the same promise for years. The committee announced that street stalls would be completely banned from downtown Yangon starting in September 2014 – a measure that never gained traction. It then announced in December of that year that a night market to replace street stalls would be approved by the 2015-16 fiscal year.
Before the failed ban, street vendors were officially permitted to operate between 3pm and 8pm. Nonetheless, roadside stalls still can be seen offering convenient services and clogging traffic at all hours of the day.
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