Amritsar: Vallah vegetable, fruit market grapples with unhygienic conditions

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 10

Decades old issue of non-development, unhygienic conditions and absence of basic amenities at the only wholesale vegetable and fruit market in the Vallah area here resonated in the Assembly session recently.

MLA Jeevanjot Kaur, in whose constituency the mandi falls, took up the matter in the Budget session of the Vidhan Sabha. She lamented that no permanent shed had been constructed in the mandi spread over 100 acres since its 20 years existence.

She said people were constructing their private properties in the mandi. The market committee was unable to secure no-objection certificate (NOC) for providing even simple infrastructure for the smooth functioning of the mandi.

The structure of only overhead water reservoir that supplied water to the entire mandi had been declared unsafe, the MLA said. Farmers from far flung areas brought fresh farm produce at the mandi every day. The mandi had only one toilet which could accommodate four persons at a time while hundreds of shops and vends were operational in the market where floating population was high.

Fruit and vegetable traders demanded that more toilets should be constructed in the market.

The market committee was grappling with a piquant situation as it could not carry out any development works as most of the mandi area fell under the 1,000 yard limit of the Army ammunition dump on the Amritsar-Verka-Wagah bypass near Vallah village.

Members of the All Fruit and Vegetable Traders Association had requested reduction of the no-activity zone from the present l,000 yards to 350 yards.

The MLA has sought intervention of the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to take up the matter with the Union Ministry of Defence.

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