For some time now, we've been receiving low profile grumbling from the fruit and vegetable vendors who set up shop in the open Belize City lot owned by Arun Hotchandani. That's right next to the Michael Finnegan Market, and the complaints have been that there is an unsanitary buildup of garbage. So we went out to see it for ourselves over the last two days. We spoke with a few of the personalities who frequent the area, and they told us what's been causing unsanitary situation where food is being sold:
Brian Reneau - Customer
"I think the market is in deplorable condition. The vendors pay their money every week and Government have to send help to send the health department in here. You see all the dirt in here and the stench all over the place. This is not humane. I think they should sent some health inspectors to see what is happening in here."
Javier Cocom - Customer
"The proper authorities they are not doing their job because time and again I go and come from San Pedro. I would pass by to buy some fruits and things, but looking at this whole mess here, it doesn't give me that enticing thing to buy food and vegetables because to me it's not healthy. So I guess that proper authorities should look into it and do something because I have a friend here also. He says that he pays his dues so that the place could look good."
Marie - Vendor
"The garbage affects everyone here inside the market, but you know something most of the garbage comes from outside. People from off the street that comes into the market leave their garbage inside here, while we are trying to keep the place clean. All of us that works here pay so our garbage can be dispose, but what sense does it make that we are trying to keep the place clean and others don't, and it's a problem that affects the business."
Vendor
"When we leave from here we take all our garbage with us in our vehicle to go throw away to the dump site, so we leave here practically clean. The problem here is that the people from the busses do not participate, The bus area is always fill with garbage and when the north 
breeze starts to blow all the garbage this side. Like I was telling him the other day a bus parked right here and the bus driver took out 2 bags of garbage and leave it there, and I told him "old man are you going to leave that garbage right there?" and he answered and said if I thought he was fool, so I told him I was just asking a question because if the garbage is left there we are the ones responsible for it."
Today, when we spoke with land owner Arun Hotchandani, he told us that he had only just been briefed of the situation, and that steps are being taken to remedy it forthwith. He stressed that even though this garbage issue has caught the attention of the press, he and his companies have done much to attracted commercial activity near the Pound Yard area. He notes that with the completion the complex near the bridge, business activity has picked up.
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