Kolkata: Many sports fans knew them as the men who printed Messi’s No. 10 and Ronaldo’s No. 7 on their jerseys, or the names of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli on the back of the sweatshirts.With old Maidan Market closing to facilitate the construction of Esplanade Metro station, the 12 artisans now stare at an uncertain future.“We did not get any space at the new Maidan Market complex built for traders. While 528 stall owners got space in the new market, we have been left out,” said Angad Das (36), who has been printing names, logos and numbers on jerseys since the 2000s.“The market committee kept us in the dark. They told us all through negotiations that they will do something for us. Right at the end, when the final shift started, we were told that we would not have any space in the new structure. What will we do now?” asked Istak Ahmed (51), who said that he had been working inside the old Maidan Market for over three decades.Ahmed said the 12 traders were not even asking for stalls. “It is true we never had stalls. We worked by setting up small units on the passage. We are just asking for some space in the new structure. We too have families to run. We do not know any other work. What will we do if we are thrown out of this place?” he said. Ahmed’s son will appear for Madhyamik exams next year while his daughter will write her HS exams. He has his mother and wife, who is a homemaker, to support also.Das said his four-year-old school-going daughter’s education depended on what he earned. He lives with his wife, a homemaker, and daughter.“We are just requesting RVNL and other authorities to give us some space. It is not that we have sprung up out of nowhere. All of us had been running our businesses from inside the market for decades and we have a lot of people coming to us,” said a trader.
