Veggie vendors removed from Vallah Mandi main internal road

Amritsar, September 11

Along with a posse of police personnel, officials of the market committee removed retail vegetable vendors from the main internal road of Vallah Mandi here on Monday.

The three-day drive was conducted on Friday, Saturday and Monday. At least 75 vendors were removed and given an alternate site at the rear end of the mandi. Vendors are complaining of extremely tough days ahead for them at the alternate site. They said that the site does not have any shed. So, they would have to make their own arrangements to protect themselves from the direct sunlight.

Also, there was no potable water facility at the site, they said. At present, demarcation is being done at the new site for allotting space to vendors.

Commission agents dealing in fruit and operating from the shed number six, the only place allotted to fruit section in the entire mandi, are irked at the market committee for congesting their place of work. They said around 20 commission agents dealing in fruit, who were removed from the road outside shed number six, had occupied the same shed.

They said 35 licence holder fruit commission agents were working at the shed. They said as the number of agents had gone up to 55, the place had now got congested.

Commission agents of the wholesale Sabzi Mandi alleged that the market committee was issuing licences without taking into consideration limited space and insufficient facilities at Vallah.

Officials said as per the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961, licences could be issued to a person interested in doing business in the notified area where he had own or a rented shop.