News
Pettah market vendors squeezed by higher rents
View(s):By Tharushi Weerasinghe
Vendors in the Pettah say they are unable to bear the sharp rise in shop rentals imposed by the Urban Development Authority for small floor areas in the Pettah market.
“I’ve been working in this market for about 40 years now,” said Mohomed Rafeek, 53, who runs a leather bag shop at the ‘World Market’, opposite the Fort Railway Station.
The shopping complex was initially under the Colombo Municipal Council until the UDA took over in 2003.
“There were about 20 big shops back then,” recalls Mr. Rafeek who says that he used to pay rent of Rs. 500. The shops were once moved out of the Chatham Street, Cargills building by former president Ranasinghe Premadasa at which point rent had been Rs. 90.
Once the UDA took over, rent was raised from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 and then following the coronavirus disease pandemic, it was abruptly raised to Rs. 4,750 a month. But, what is available for this rent is 5×3 ft area.
“I need three rental spaces, so the rental cost is Rs. 15,000 a month for storage, and display,” noted Mr. Rafeek, who added that some spaces are less than 5 feet in length. Some retailers pay rent to the UDA and a small fee to whoever owns the space next to their store for a little more space. “Business is unpredictable right now and since Pettah has a reputation for being a low-cost product market.”
Nihar Deen, 62, told the Sunday Times he was given a space in the interior of the market during the transfers from 1982 to the 2000s. This meant he had been deprived of roadside customers. “I own a small space so I have around 16 square feet to run my business which is difficult with the expenses,” he said. He has got final warnings.
A UDA spokesman told the Sunday Times that rent revisions take place every five years based on an internal valuation. “Space is allocated based on availability because of high demand.” The UDA is now shutting down shops that have long overdue bills. “The UDA is open to discussing easy-payment schemes before sealing the shops, but the shops we closed had huge outstanding bills they hadn’t paid.”
The UDA, the sources said, will also take legal action against defaulters.
Most vendors in the ‘World Market’ have been operating from the 1980s. Fabric store owner Anura Jayalath, 58, and operating since 1983, noted that higher rents are understandable in that the Government needed revenue, “with the economic crisis I can see why they need to charge us like this, but it’s difficult for us, too.”
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