KUALA LUMPUR: Some 500 shopowners in Masjid India marched to City Hall yesterday in a show of displeasure over what they described as ministerial interference in the allocation of stalls for Bazaar Ramadan.

Masjid India Action Committee chairman Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Isa Samad had caused confusion when he issued letters to stall holders, in addition to temporary trading licences issued by City Hall.

As a result, those with the letters are setting up stalls on the five-foot-way outside the shops, raising the anger of the owners.

Ameer Ali said City Hall had met them in March and had drawn up a plan for 700 stalls for which it would issue licences.

But an additional 150 stalls with approval letters from Isa have appeared in the area.

In a press statement, Ameer Ali claimed mayor Datuk Ruslin Hassan had stated that Isa's letter could not be used as a licence.

However, this has not stopped the additional 150 traders from setting up their stalls.

Yesterday, the shop owners, carrying banners, marched from Mydin Emporium on Jalan Masjid India to the City Hall headquarters.

Masjid India Action Committee secretary Syed Akhbar, who had earlier met with City Hall director-general Salleh Yusup, said City Hall is upset over the intervention of the ministry.

"City Hall has agreed to increase the presence of enforcement officers to prevent the additional stalls from being set up in spots where they obstruct the entrance to shops along Jalan Masjid India and block the roads leading into the area," said Syed Akbar.

City Hall will also liaise with the ministry to resolve the problem.