The recent moves by the Madang town ward councilors to turn Bates Oval into a temporary market has been described as illegal under the Physical Planning.
Town Manager, Lau Sorum, says the decision to establish a temporary market has been squashed between politics and administration.
Mr Sorum said it was resolved in a recent meeting that the temporary market would be the Botanical Garden at Sir Donald Cleland Park. However no proper market beds or stalls are in place.
This has caused farmers to sell their produce in the allocated areas while others move around the town in search of a better selling spot.
Few vendors expressed concern stating the town management should have built a temporary market facility before closing the main town market.
All this is happening whilst the town market is closed for the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to build a new market costing K26 million under the administration and supervision of National Fisheries Authority.
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