Arhtiyas, vendors seek cancellation of contract at Maqsudan Mandi
Tension continued to simmer at Maqsudan Sabzi Mandi as, after protests and holding meetings, arhtiyas and vegetable vendors have now submitted a memorandum, demanding immediate cancellation of the mandi contract awarded to Narinder Singh, Paramjit Singh and Raman Kumar Pabby.
Alleging extortion, illegal parking fee collection and blatant intimidation, arhtiyas said the situation has become untenable and warned of an indefinite strike, if the contract is not withdrawn.
The memorandum was submitted to mandi president Gurpal Singh, district mandi officer Arvinder Singh Sahi and mandi secretary Rupinder Singh. The arhtiyas alleged that the contractor has been collecting money illegally from stall owners and hawkers, often by deploying musclemen.
Arhtiyas Mahenderjit Shanti and Dimpy Sachdeva said the contractor is issuing unauthorised slips and charging arbitrary amounts — Rs 70 per round for three-wheelers, even though the official rate is Rs 20 for 24 hours. Bolero vehicles, which earlier paid Rs 50 for 24 hours, are now charged Rs 130 for just 12 hours. Vendors are made to pay the same amount again for every re-entry, even though multiple entries were earlier permitted due to the absence of a weighing point inside the mandi.
For tempos, the charge has been increased from Rs 60 to Rs 130, while tractors are now being charged Rs 150 instead of Rs 60. Six-tyre trucks, previously billed Rs 75, are being forced to pay Rs 250 per round. Even the rent for stalls has been inflated — vendors who once paid Rs 100 per day or Rs 3,000 a month are now being charged Rs 400 a day and Rs 12,000 a month. The arhtiyas said such exploitative rates have left small traders struggling to survive.
They said, last week, arhtiyas and vendors staged a protest and participated in a meeting called by the mandi board. That meeting ended in chaos after bouncers allegedly hired by the contractor stormed the mandi office and threatened traders in the presence of officials.
They said the situation has reached a point where open hooliganism is being done and officials concerned have turned a blind eye. “When we operated under the mandi committee, the rules were fair and charges reasonable. Now, vendors are being fleeced openly and repeatedly with no authority stepping in,” said Shunty.
The traders have threatened to escalate the matter if the contract is not cancelled immediately. “If this continues, the entire mandi system will collapse and the blame will lie squarely on the administration,” warned vendor Mukesh Singh.
Meanwhile, officials have assured them that the issue will be resolved soon and an action would be taken on their complaint.
Jalandhar