Old sabzi mandi turns dump yard

Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 31

The old sabzi mandi, near Hall Gate, is turning into a garbage dumping ground. Waste can be seen scattered hither and thither.

The vegetable shops were shifted to the new vegetable market at Vallah in 2005. Since then, the chunk outside Hall Gate is lying vacant and commercial establishments in the area are disposing of their waste here. The old sabzi mandi is also left with a few fruit shops whose operators too are using the place for discarding waste.

A visit to the place revealed that most of the streets were waterlogged, emanating foul smell. A shopkeeper nearby said, “We see people come here to dump waste in vacant plots. The condition worsens after rains as the area is filled with smell of rotten substances.”

Area residents say that the stagnant water in the vacant plots of the old mandi act as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. “The place is lying uninhabited for the last one-and-a-half decade. It will be better if it is put to use as it will help in ensuring cleanliness,” said a resident, Sarwan Singh.

A portion of the land is also being used by private bus operators to park their vehicles. Earlier, the Municipal Corporation (MC) had passed a project to construct a temporary parking here to deal with the problem of shortage of parking area. Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said, “The project is under consideration and work will begin after completion of the necessary formalities.”