The communal market cost billions to build but the traders 'ignored' it, many items were damaged and degraded.

Ia Hla Commune Market (Chu Puh District, Gia Lai Province) was built in Tai Per Village with a total cost of 3 billion VND. The scale of the market is class 3, the area of the house is over 431 m2, divided into 40 lots (each lot is 6 m2) and the covered fresh food area is 24 lots.

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The "abandoned" market has led to overgrown weeds. Photo: Hien Mai

The market was inaugurated and put into operation in September 2021, attracting more than 20 traders from Ia Hla commune (Chu Puh district) and Ia Hlop commune (Chu Se district) to do business. It is worth mentioning that despite the spacious investment, after only about 3 months of operation, traders and people "turned their backs" and left to do business at a three-way intersection of the commune.

Ms. To Thi Thanh (Ia Hlop commune) said: “In 2021, the Ia Hla commune market was inaugurated and put into operation, all the traders came to the market to trade. However, only 1-2 months later, the market became increasingly deserted and one by one the sellers left. Normally, I sell at Tai Per intersection, earning about 1-1.5 million VND a day, while at Ia Hla market, I only earn 200-250 thousand VND a day. Such a deserted situation forced us to return to the intersection to sell.”

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi My Thuong - a small trader in IaHla commune - said that she accepted to pay more than 3 million VND to rent a space at the intersection because it was more effective than selling at the market. "Here, renting for 1 month is also more than 3 million VND, not free, but sitting here, I can earn more than 1 million VND a day. How can I make a living if I go to the market and earn more than 100 thousand VND? Everyone needs to make a living" - Ms. Thuong said.

The long-term abandonment of Ia Hla market has caused severe damage to many items of the market. Up to now, many auxiliary items such as power lines and light bulbs have been smashed and damaged. In the restrooms, the glass doors are broken into pieces, very dirty and offensive... Going around, at some of the main pillars of the market, the bricks are peeling; the glass in some places is broken into pieces.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Rah Lan Hoen - Chairman of Ia Hla Commune People's Committee - said that as of yesterday (September 30), some traders had entered the market area to trade.

“Recently, the People's Committee of Ia Hla commune has mobilized forces and launched propaganda campaigns to the people to quickly stabilize trading in the market area. Up to now, some traders have complied with the policy and come to trade in the market,” Mr. Rah Lan Hoen informed.

Some images of damaged and degraded items recorded by reporters: