E-Paper
Fair being held on Ludhiana Improvement Trust land sans approvals
According to Ludhiana Improvement Trust officials, the organisers, Ram Dussehra Committee, applied for the permissions but did not pay the requisite fee for using the land
A private Dussehra committee is organising a fair on prime commercial land owned by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) in Block J, BRS Nagar, without obtaining the required approval or No Objection Certificate (NOC) from any department, officials from the trust said.
According to LIT officials, the organisers, Ram Dussehra Committee, applied for the permissions but did not pay the requisite fee for using the land.
They added that no official approval has been granted and the fair is being run illegally.
LIT chairperson Tarsem Singh Bhinder confirmed that the committee had not received the requisite permission to hold the event.
“We have not approved this fair. The committee owes over ₹1 lakh as fee for using the land. The police asked us for permission but we objected to it in writing on Wednesday,” he said.
The organisers, however, refuted the allegations.
Ram Dussehra Committee president Mandeep Bhanot said, “We have applied for the required permissions and obtained them from the departments concerned.”
Will take action after LIT sends official letter: DC
Deputy commissioner (DC) Jitendra Jorwal assured that action will be taken if any violations are established.
“Once LIT sends us an official letter, we will take strict action and not allow the fair to continue,” the DC said.
‘No safety measures in place’
Locals alleged that there are no safety arrangements at place at the Dussehra fair, making it susceptible to accidents.
Damanpreet Kaur, a resident of Block J, BRS Nagar, who visited the fair, said, “I visited the fair on Tuesday evening, and there were no safety measures in place. No fire safety arrangements have been made and the rides are installed in a cramped and chaotic manner. I urge the authorities to take strict action as the fair is running without proper permissions.”
LIT officials added that since the organisers did not have the permission to use the land, there is no way they could have obtained the requisite permissions from the other departments.
