I have been told by town council staff that hawker centre stallholders are responsible for covering up their stalls in preparation for cleaning by contractors.

Why do contractors not take the responsibility to cover up the stalls before they go about their work with their water jets?

Many stallholders are elderly, in the 60s and 70s. It would be a serious safety issue for them to try reaching the top of their stalls to cover them with canvas sheets.

Even if the stallholders manage to do so, the manner in which they wrap up their stalls may lead to potential squabbles with the stalls next door, such as dirty water from one side ending up on the other.

Without proper covering, the spray of the water jets could create potential electrical hazards.

It has been suggested that each stallholder pay $180 so that the contractor can be the one to cover up the stalls, but why should this be the case?

The National Environment Agency should set it as a policy that any contractor tasked to clean a hawker centre should also be responsible for covering up the stalls before work begins.

If this is not possible, then the authorities should look into whether there is a need for stallholders to pay for such a service.

Steven Ng Boon Soon