Garbage, slush greet visitors in Sec 26 mandi

Poor sanitation, unhygienic conditions and heaps of garbage are perennial woes plaguing the fruit and vegetable and grain market in Sector 26.

Slush on roads, vegetable waste raising a stink and chaotic traffic are major problems encountered by visitors in the mandi on a routine basis. Lack of parking space is another issue faced by visitors at the mandi.

Due to insufficient space available for parking, chaos prevails most of the time in the mandi, as apart from vehicles loading and unloading goods, visitors in large numbers also throng the mandi, said a commission agent.

Sometimes it becomes difficult to get in or move out of the mandi, he added.

“Rotten vegetables and fruits dumped at various places lead to unclean conditions. Besides, most entry and exit points to the mandi have broken roads,” said Aman Verma, a visitor to the mandi.

Navdeep Kaur, a resident of Sector 28, said while buying items they had to bear with insanitary conditions and foul smell as waste was not lifted regularly.

She stated that residents had to purchase vegetables and fruits from here despite insanitary conditions.

Moreover, illegal vendors add to the woes with no check on them by the authorities, she added.

The vendors are continuing to sell vegetables and fruits in plastic bags despite a ban on single-use plastic. A vendor said they had to use plastic bags as customers seldom bring their own bags.

An official said sanitation and other issues faced by vendors and buyers could be permanently resolved if the mandi was shifted to new fruit, vegetable and grain market in Sector 39.

Hari Kallikkat, secretary, Agriculture Marketing Board, was not available for comments.