Amritsar civic body accused of ‘bias’ after action against beverage maker

Manmeet Singh Gill

Amritsar, June 14

Having earned the ire of the netizens after it removed the Sardai (thandai) maker sitting outside the wall of Company Bagh here last evening, the Municipal Corporation staff today also removed a few rehris selling coconut water on the same stretch.

In the action taken last evening, while the MC team had emptied the utensils of the Sardai maker and taken away his cart, coconut water sellers nearby were not even questioned or asked to leave. A video recording of the incident had caused an uproar online as netizens accused the MC of adopting a selective approach.

The entire stretch of Mall Road alongside Company Bagh has at least 10 rehris selling coconut water. In MC circles, it is no secret that all these rehris are actually owned by a person who is politically influential.

Some of the residents also accused the MC team of trying to help the well connected owner of all the coconut rehris as most people had preferred drinking Sardai instead of coconut water. Meanwhile, the Sardai maker, seen dressed in Nihang attire has moved inside the Company Bagh as he claimed that the operator of a booth had invited him to share space with him.

When contacted, MC Estate Officer Dharminderjit Singh said, “As per street vending rules, a person is allowed only if he is constantly on the move and does not cause any trouble in traffic movement. In this case, the person was sitting on the ground where he prepared his drink. We had received several complaints against him.”

Asked about the allegations of trying to help the owner of coconut rehris, he said, “We would surely take action against him. We have confiscated four rehris today. We would continue our action and confiscate if more rehris are seen there.” The Estate Officer said his intentions were only to serve the public interest and all allegations were mere lies.