Warring disassembles broom to register protest against worker’s arrest Condemns AAP for authoritarian reaction over disassembling of broom Says, not broom, AAP will disassemble in any case by year end TANDA (HOSHIARPUR) 6 June ( PDL ) : Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today led his party workers in disassembling a broom as a mark of defiance and protest against the Aam Aadmi Party government jailing one of the party workers earlier for alleged disrespect to broom. Warring also met the party worker Ashrdeep and his family members here today. Arshdeep had been arrested by the Punjab Police on the charges of “disrespecting” broom, the party symbol of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. Warring expressed solidarity with Arshdeep and his family telling them the entire rank and file of the party stood by him. He pointed out, party workers across Punjab had staged massive protests against his arrest.“The disassembling of brooms is just the beginning and it will end up in d...
Shopkeepers Raise Slogans Against Mandi Board and Contractor in Mohali Over Current Contractor's 'Dictatorial' Behavior
Shopkeepers Raise Slogans Against Mandi Board and Contractor in Mohali Over Current Contractor's 'Dictatorial' Behavior
Allege: For the First Time in Punjab's History, Tables, Umbrellas, and Other Equipment Are Being Forcibly Imposed; Attempts Being Made to Snatch Away Livelihoods
Warning Issued to Punjab Government and Mandi Board: Will Move Court if Order Is Not Withdrawn
S.A.S.Nagar 7 May ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The controversy surrounding the action previously taken against street vendors in Mohali city by the current government and the Municipal Corporation had barely subsided when, on the other hand, vendors and shopkeepers selling vegetables and other goods at the 'Kisan Mandis' (Farmers' Markets)—which operate under the aegis of the Punjab Mandi Board—have begun to express their outrage against a recently issued directive. Issuing a stern warning, they stated that if the said directive is not revoked, and if the current contractor does not cease his harassment and intimidation of the shopkeepers, they will be compelled to not only launch a protest movement but also seek legal recourse by approaching the courts.
These sentiments were voiced today by a large gathering of vendors—comprising sellers of vegetables, fruits, and various other commodities—who had assembled at the Rose Garden in Phase 3B2, Mohali, under the banner of the 'Mohali Apni Mandi Union.' The shopkeepers alleged that the Punjab Mandi Board has awarded an additional tender to the current contractor—who already holds the contract for managing the Kisan Mandis—authorizing him to collect fees from vendors for tables, umbrellas, floor mats (daris), and other equipment according to his own terms, and to supply these items to the shopkeepers himself. They pointed out that, throughout the many years of the markets' existence, no such directive had ever been issued previously.
During a press conference held in Mohali, union office-bearers—including President Baldev Singh Mannu, Davinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Bhura, Ramnaresh, Seema Kumar, Kishan Kumar, and Jaswinder Kaur—along with other vendors, stated that the Punjab Mandi Board had previously required the incumbent contractor to provide only three specific services at the various *Kisan Mandis* (Farmers' Markets) established across Mohali city: ensuring the cleanliness of the market, arranging for a water tanker for drinking water, and setting up a tent for Mandi Board officials to sit in and for displaying vegetable prices.
Despite this limited scope of services, the vendors have been regularly paying their prescribed fees and conducting their business operations. However, a newly issued directive has shattered their peace of mind, leaving them plagued by the fear of losing their livelihoods. **No Permanent Site for a Vegetable Market in Mohali; Vendors Locate Sites Themselves, Yet Mandi Board Collects Taxes Once Market is Established**
**Mohali:** Most vendors who earn their livelihood by setting up pushcarts, stalls, and other types of shops at *Kisan Mandis* leveled allegations before the media, stating that the Mohali Mandi Board possesses no permanent designated site anywhere in the city for establishing a market. Yet, despite this lack of infrastructure, the vendors continue to pay the prescribed fees to the Board on a periodic basis. The vendors further allege that whenever the Punjab government requires a specific plot of land, the market is forcibly evicted from that site; subsequently, the vendors themselves must clean up and reclaim often-filthy, neglected spaces to set up their shops and market, only for the Mandi Board to arrive shortly thereafter to collect fees from them.
**[Box Item]**
**Maintain the Status Quo; Withdraw the New Directive—Otherwise, We Will Move the Courts**
The vendors who set up shops in the *Kisan Mandis*—along with the office-bearers of the Mohali Mandi Union—have asserted that the existing system, which has been in place for many years, must be maintained and the recently issued directive must be withdrawn. They warned that, should this not happen, they would take legal action against the government in court, holding the Punjab Mandi Board and other concerned officials solely responsible for the consequences.
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