Vendors at Maqsudan sabzi mandi go on strike
Jalandhar, April 4
Hundreds of vegetable and fruit vendors who sell their produce at the main sabzi mandi of the city at Maqsudan on Monday went on a strike and shut down their operations.
The vendors were demanding that they be exempted of Rs 3,000 per month service tax. Ravi Shankar Gupta, president of the New Sabzi Mandi Vendors Association, said: “The market committee was levying an amount as service tax from us every month till seven months ago. The previous Congress government exempted us from this levy. We demand that the Aam Aadmi Party should also extend the same exemption to us.”
Gupta added: “While we can wait for a decision on exemption of service tax but we have another major issue, which the committee needs to resolve immediately. About two years back, about 200-300 vendors who used to part their carts on the side of the mandi abutting the old GT Road had been shifted to the backside of the mandi so that there is no traffic chaos. But now these vendors are back once again on the frontal side of the mandi. Since all the buyers find it convenient to approach them from the front side, those abiding by the rule and putting up the carts on the backside of the mandi remain at a huge loss. We have talked to the market committee officials. We have told them that we will end our strike only if all the vendors are made to go to the hind side of the mandi so that everyone has a good and equal sale.”
