When the Sunday Chronicle visited the market yesterday, many of the business operators were on the lookout for suspicious activity, saying that they have to effect their own methods of safeguarding their livelihood, since the additional protection promised by the Mayor and City Council early last week, has not yet been realised.

The owner of Dhanpaul's Jewellery - one of the vandalised stores - says he has not received any indication as to whether he will be reimbursed for his losses. Like so many others in the market, he emphasised that the security measures in place there are not enough to prevent a second burglary.

The young man, who claims to have lost about $40M in the robbery, added that he is not satisfied with the Police response to leads being provided by several members of the public. He says that although these clues seem vital, they appear to be ignored or dismissed by the law enforcement authorities.

Roopnaraine, the owner of a clothing stall located a stone's throw from the jewellery establishment, also expressed his apprehension towards returning to business in the market with a noticeable presence of increased security.

He says that although there seems to be a few more members of the City Constabulary on patrol in the shopping area, the promised beefing-up of the security detail is still to be seen.

According to Roopnaraine, the inferior locks on the market gates, which he says adds to the vulnerability of the enclosed businesses, have not been replaced.

One stall owner even attributed a decrease in sales to the recent exposure of the market's security failures.

“People are not coming like before. On Saturday, this place is usually packed,” she said.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown had earlier promised to provide the market with additional security, including officers from a private firm. However, the vendors say they have only seen a slight improvement in the level of security.

Superintendent of the Constabulary, Mr. Andrew Foo had said that 22 constables would be posted at the location. He had made that announcement during a meeting with some of the stall holders last week.

However, one of the vendors had complained that the constables only added to their frustration by demanding bribes and harassing stall holders.

The Mayor, Mr. Hamilton Green, had advised that the Market Association become more involved in the new security system.

But some of the members of that group say they are completely unaware and uninformed of the operation of any such system.