Amritsar: Basic amenities elude veggie, fruit market in Vallah

Fruit and vegetable dealers and vendors at the wholesale market in Vallah continue to do business from partially developed mandi, which sans proper basic amenities for traders, visitors and growers, who come here to sell their fresh farm produce from far off places.

A wholesale trader Ravinder Singh said the Army ammunition depot came into existence in 2004. During the same time, the wholesale fruit and vegetable market was also shifted out of the congested part of the city to Vallah. He said due to restrictions on the construction within a periphery of 1,000 yards of the ammunition depot, many shops could not be raised. He said even simple amenities like toilets and concrete sheds to save people from cold wave and rain were denied.

Though the Ministry of Defence had reduced the area of no-construction zone around ammunition depots, the decision was not implemented on the ground level.

Situated in the vicinity of Vallah ammunition depot of the Army, the progress of the mandi stopped due to restrictions enforced to safeguard the vital defence installation.

A fruit trader Surinder Singh said the Director General of Defence Estates through a circular dated October 21, 2017, had stated that ammunition depots were categorised into two categories. He said no-construction zones in the two categories were reduced to 10 metres and 50 metres, respectively. He rued that even after so many years, the amended guidelines yet to be implemented.

At least 75 traders, uprooted from the old Sabzi Mandi outside the Hall Gate, were allotted space in the new Vallah market in 2004. These traders have been demanding swift implementation of the amended rules so that they could get a modern market with all amenities.

In December 2013, the government had carried out a survey of all ammunition depots in Punjab, including Vallah, to ascertain if any reduction in the notified area was possible, said traders. They said the defence authorities had relaxed restrictions on the construction of a railway overbridge in the Vallah area a couple of years ago. They demanded that restrictions on constructions at Vallah mandi should also be relaxed.