The Department of Development Affairs is taxing shops at the Nandawon market in Rangoon to pay for a mandatory market fair. The day fair will be held in spite of opposition from shopkeepers, who say business will be harmed by temporary vendors.

According to a shopkeeper in the market, most business people in the market opposed the fair when the DDA distributed an agreement related to the festival. "The authorities should allow the owners who regularly sell in Nandawon to participate in a market fair if they want to have one," the shopkeeper said. A second shopkeeper echoed this sentiment, adding "We could not do anything to halt the market festival, even though we objected to holding it again."

The shopkeepers highlighted three main reasons for opposition to the fair. "Outside vendors set up in front of the market and it decreases sales of inside Nandawon," said the first shopkeeper, adding, "Last time we held a market fair, outside vendors hurt Nandawon's reputation. They made the market notorious because they sold bad quality goods."

Third, the shopkeepers complained that outside vendors have to pay lower taxes to the DDA. Shops inside Nandawon have to pay 100,000 kyat to the DDA, while outside vendors have only to pay 70,000 to 80,000 kyat.

DDA officials told shop owners that the fair was being held to generate more revenue for the country. The Nandawon market is home to about a thousand stalls.