Filthy and unsafe at Nghe An's largest market

Sleazy

Vinh Market is one of the oldest markets in Vinh City. Through many historical periods, Vinh Market has grown and become the leading shopping center of the province. Since 2005, after many times of degradation, Vinh Market's main hall has been built and put into operation since 2008. Since then, Vinh Market has grown and become a commercial center, a major commodity trading hub of the province.

The main hall of Vinh market is designed with 3 floors above ground and 1 basement, the total floor area of ​​4 floors is 33,000 m². Of which, the first floor has an area of ​​over 8,000 m², with nearly 700 stalls selling various products: Fabrics, groceries, stationery...; the 2nd floor is more than 7,500 m2 wide², arranged with 676 booths mainly selling garments; 3rd floor is 1,200 m wide²divided into areas for the market management office, representative office, supermarket business activities and food and beverage services.

However, since the market started operating, the third floor has not been effective. The local government has made great efforts to attract businesses to invest here. Specifically, in 2017, a number of Korean businesses invested in building a commercial center on the third floor of Vinh market, with an area of ​​1,000 m²to display and introduce the country's products. However, after a short time, this area also stopped operating.

Despite the large area of ​​vacant land, makeshift kiosks have sprung up in front of and behind the market gate, covered with shabby tents, causing a loss of urban beauty. Not to mention some areas, the empty spaces are covered with corrugated iron to store goods, posing a potential risk of fire and explosion.

Recently, Nghe An Newspaper received a petition from many households doing business in the main hall area of ​​Vinh market, reflecting the situation of expanding and erecting corrugated iron sheets at the entrances to the basement of the main hall of Vinh market to store goods, losing the function of escape and emergency exit, increasing the risk of fire, explosion and environmental pollution in the basement area.

In addition, right in the front yard of the main communal house, there are many households doing business in violation of planning, setting up banners and tarpaulins to display goods, causing sloppiness, losing the urban beauty and obstructing traffic when people want to visit and shop at Vinh market.

In addition to the illegal arrangement of stalls, what makes small businesses in Vinh Market’s main hall indignant is that the Vinh Market Management Board tacitly allows businesses to operate outside the main hall yard. This causes unfairness and unhealthy competition between households that have invested a lot of money to buy kiosks to operate in the market and those who have not invested money but have business locations right at the front of the market.

Many potential risks

Studying the people's reflections, it shows that the above recommendations are well-founded and quite painful. In front of the main hall of Vinh market, adjacent to Le Hong Son street, what catches the eye is a row of shops with tents, green and red umbrellas, very shabby, motorbikes, tables and chairs placed blocking the path.

Going down to the basement, through the area of ​​hardware stores (iron, aluminum, metal, electrical appliances, etc.), is a parking lot. Right at the end of the entrance behind the main hall's basement door, next to the elevator, an emergency exit sign is still lit but the entrance is tightly covered with corrugated iron. This corrugated iron area has become a warehouse for people's goods. There is a warehouse with a sign "specializing in wholesale and retail of general merchandise - electronics - electrical appliances - furniture - household goods...". Outside, where the two entrances are covered with corrugated iron, are two food stalls, covered with tarpaulins to block the sun and taking advantage of part of the roof of the stairwell.

Going around to both sides of the main temple, right at the steps of the western and eastern exits, many corrugated iron kiosks have also been expanded and assembled for small traders to do business.

Ms. T. - an electronics retailer on the first floor of the main hall said: The fact that the Vinh Market Management Board allows many retailers to set up tents and do business right at the entrance to the main hall is unacceptable. Many people say that people and tourists rarely go to Vinh Market now because business activities have changed a lot, but it is this slovenliness that makes people and tourists lose sympathy when coming to Vinh Market.

Ms. T. also said that the city government needs to clarify whether the arrangement of the above-mentioned kiosks and stalls causing chaos has been permitted by the authorities or not, and whether it is in accordance with the planning since the construction or not? Will the fire prevention and fighting agency regularly inspect and give opinions to the Vinh Market Management Board or not?...

Based on the above facts, we had a meeting with the Vinh Market Management Board. Here, Mr. Thai Van Hai - Deputy Head of the Vinh Market Management Board admitted the sloppiness and loss of urban beauty as reflected. At the same time, he said that the above mentioned kiosks and stalls in front and behind the main communal house yard were not included in the planning. The number of households doing business of this type is about 30.

However, Mr. Hai said that this was a legacy from before, when businesses from Hong Son and Vinh Tan wards did not have a place to do business, did not have enough conditions to buy stalls and kiosks, so they were arranged to make a living. Removing them is not difficult, but partly because of social security and not being able to arrange other places, these kiosks still exist.

Regarding the expansion and corrugated iron covering to make a warehouse behind the entrance to the basement of the main communal house, Mr. Hai said that because businesses do not have warehouses, conditions should be created for businesses to have a place to gather goods.

According to research, Vinh market currently has more than 3,000 business locations, of which the main hall area has about 1,400 locations. However, in recent years, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, business activities here have encountered many difficulties, many business locations have been left vacant. In addition, the lack of investment and upgrading for a long time has also caused Vinh market to seriously degrade, especially the elevator system no longer works, the 3rd floor is vacant.

Obviously, in the face of these realities, it is necessary to rectify and handle the shacks and booths that cause sloppiness and loss of urban beauty in the Vinh market area. This will not only make the Vinh market area more spacious, clean and beautiful, but also contribute significantly to fire prevention and fighting. More than anyone else, the Vinh Market Management Board and the businesses in Vinh market understand best the lessons learned in fire prevention and fighting. Because if this is not done well, the consequences will be very unpredictable...