Vendors protest demarcation work in city’s vegetable market

Tribune News Service

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Bathinda, November 4

The dispute over the allocation of an area to vendors intensified on Monday when the market committee started the demarcation work in the vegetable market.

On the occasion, the police closed the gate of the vegetable market and kept all vegetable traders away from the market. Irked over it, vegetable market commission agents and vendors started raising slogans against the market committee, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal and Congress leaders.

Later, the protesters blocked the GT Road at Balmaki Chowk. After stopping traffic on the one side of the road, the protesters made efforts to block the movement of vehicles on the other side as well. Thereafter, Davinder Singh, SHO, Kotwali police station, warned them of strict action.

Around 6 pm, SAD leader Sarup Chand Singla also joined the protest. He held Manpreet Badal responsible for it. The SAD leader assured the protesters of support in their agitation. Singla said instead of blocking the road, the vendors should have protested at the vegetable market. The SAD leader said no one could take their land.

Thereafter, Singla, along with protesters, went to the vegetable market. Later, it was decided that 11 members of the Vegetable Vends’ Union would meet officials to resolve the issue. Till the filing of the report, the meeting was on in which members of the union, officials of the market committee and DSP Romana were present.

Vendors at the vegetable market alleged that under the pressure of Congress leaders, the market committee was changing their location where they had been working for the past 40 years.

On Sunday, Manpreet Badal had assured them that no area would be changed, but the work of demarcation started on Monday.