KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — It will be a dim celebration for many Deepavali bazaar traders as they will not be able to conduct business at the lucrative annual fair in Brickfields this year.

This follows a recent decision by the Federal Territories Ministry and City Hall to ban temporary stalls at the main thoroughfare in Little India during the Deepavali celebrations.

Its deputy minister Dr J. Loga Bala Mohan said the bazaar would be moved to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman at Masjid India.

The stalls in Jalan Tun Sambanthan saw numerous complaints from business owners who claimed the bazaar resulted in huge losses for them and posed safety issues.

Brickfields Stakeholders Association president Dr R. Narkunan said the move resolved many issues relating to the Deepavali bazaar.

“For the past 18 years, we have been trying to reach out to the authorities to come up with a new system and this seems to be the main motive of the decision.

“We are taxpayers and therefore our rights as businessmen should also be protected,” said Dr Narkunan.

National Council for the Blind assistant executive director Moses Choo agreed that the new system was fair to everyone.

“I understand how traders feel about the new ruling but we need to move forward,” he added.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib said a new balloting system would be used to allocate the 1,500 stalls for the Deepavali bazaar in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Masjid India, Sentul and other areas.

He said the system would ensure transparency and resolve allegations of middlemen raking in thousands of ringgit by sub-letting lots to third parties.

Last year, some traders claimed that they had to pay three to four times more to secure lots in Brickfields via middlemen.

A City Hall spokesman said the decision was taken after a group of traders defied City Hall’s instructions by setting up stalls along the main road without licences.