Cart, auto-rickshaw drivers stage protest at New Sabzi Mandi in Ludhiana

The atmosphere remained tense for a long time as the protestors continued to raise slogans against the parking contractor as well as Mandi Board chairman Darshan Lal Baweja for over an hour

Cart and auto-rickshaw drivers staged a protest against the parking contractor of the new vegetable market by closing the gate of the market on Thursday.

The protestors blamed the contractor and his workers for issuing parking slips every time they enter the gate during the day. (Representative photo)

The atmosphere remained tense for a long time as the protestors continued to raise slogans against the parking contractor as well as Mandi Board chairman Darshan Lal Baweja for over an hour. Moreover, members of the Lok Insaaf Party, including Ranjit Singh Sibia, also joined the protestors.

The protestors blamed the contractor and his workers for issuing parking slips every time they entered the mandi gate during the day. “Earlier, we were allowed to enter the gate multiple times using a slip for 12 hours but now, the workers charge us for every single entry and if people refuse to pay, they beat them,” alleged the protestors.

Sibia alleged that the Mandi Board and the contractor were harassing the poor vendors by charging them every time they enter the market during a day. “What will these vendors earn and how will their families make ends meet if they pay a fee every time they enter the market,” he said, adding that the board should permit multiple entries on a slip like it is being done in other mandis of the state.

Later, the protestors met Baweja and demanded that they should be allowed multiple entries on a slip for a day. Baweja called up the contractor and asked him to come up with the solution for the same.