Rotting waste mounds raise a stink at city’s biggest vegetable market

City’s biggest vegetable market near the Jalandhar Bypass is now a portrait of civic failure. Every day, thousands of buyers, sellers and workers navigate mounds of garbage, stagnant water and the stench of rotting produce.

Despite being second only to Delhi’s Azadpur Mandi in scale, the Ludhiana market has become synonymous with chaos. Over 1,200 authorised traders operate here, yet basic infrastructure — water, sanitation and waste segregation — are conspicuously absent.

“It scares me to see vegetables being sold in such unhygienic conditions,” said Navneet Kaur from Field Gunj.

“The smell is unbearable. We wash everything thoroughly at home but how long can one keep risking our health?” she asks.

Under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, vegetable markets are classified as bulk waste generators and are mandated to segregate and treat biodegradable waste on site. But the reality is far different. Plastic and organic waste lie in mixed heaps, breeding mosquitoes and threatening to leach into the food chain.

Rains have worsened the situation. Pools of stagnant water have turned into mosquito nurseries, raising fears of dengue and malaria outbreaks. The partial enforcement of the ban on single-use plastic has only added to the mounting crisis.

It’s unbearable most mornings,” said Harpreet Kaur, a resident of Govind Pura near the Jalandhar Bypass. “The stench from the garbage and rotting vegetables remains in the air. It is difficult to pass near the market. It’s not only unhygienic — but also inhumane.”

“The condition of the vegetable market is getting worse. Piles of garbage and stagnant water is making difficult for us to even stand in the market,” said Amarvir Singh, secretary of the Punjab State Fruit and Vegetable Commission Agents Association.

Rumail Singh, secretary of the Punjab Mandi Board’s market committee said a cleaning drive was conducted on Tuesday and challans were issued along with the Municipal Corporation to three vendors for dumping waste.

“Despite warnings, vendors continue to discard rotten vegetables early in the morning,” he said.

“It is our collective responsibility and everyone should understand the same and keep the surroundings neat and clean,” he said.

A static compactor was installed in the main vegetable market recently.

The Municipal Corporation claimed that the cleanliness responsibility lies squarely with the market committee.