NAJRAN — Local residents have reacted angrily after the municipality shut down the vegetable market in Al-Faisaliyah District, Al-Jazirah reported. Ahmad Hasan said the municipality shut down the market at the beginning of Ramadan. He said: “Ramadan is probably the only time of year when the vegetable market becomes absolutely crowded. The municipality did not take into consideration the people and their needs. “Where are we supposed to get our vegetables from now?” Mani Al-Mansour said now that the municipality has shut down the vegetable market, all other vegetable vendors have increased their prices. He said: “With the vegetable market gone, people in Najran are really struggling to buy vegetables. “The municipality did not think through its decision. It shut the market down at a time when people highly depended on it.” Saleh Al-Hatwa, a vegetable vendor, said he and a group of friends were licensed by the municipality to sell vegetables. He said: “We were surprised to receive a letter from the municipality telling us to evacuate the market. “We asked a representative of the secretariat to give us until the end of Ramadan so we could sell out all of our goods. “He refused, saying the municipality will be building a project in place of the market and it must be shut down now.” He said he understands the urgency of commencing the project but felt he deserved more time to sell his products. “If I don't sell my products out they will rot and I will lose money. If the municipality cannot give us more time to look for another market, it should at least give us an alternative.” Najran Municipality spokesman Abdullah Al-Fadel said the new project the municipality is building is just a renovation of the market. He said: “We already contracted with the company that will build the new market. Everything sold at the market is available in other markets and the vendors will be given a place in the new market without them having to rent a table again.”
