Told to shut shop, tonga drivers move High Court

Tongawallahs of Old Delhi have approached the High Court against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) decision to phase them out.

Tongawallahs of Old Delhi have approached the High Court against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) decision to phase them out.

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The civic agency has directed all tongawallahs to sell their horses outside the state and chose an alternative trade.

The HC will hear the writ petition filed by the tongawallahs on July 14.

The tonga owners have filed another application, seeking an interim stay on the MCD order after the civic body issued fresh orders this week asking them to shut shop. This application is likely to be taken on Wednesday.

The tongawallas have also requested Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to intervene.

The civic agency, in an informal meeting with tongawallahs on Monday, directed them to "voluntarily" shut shop within a week or face forcible shifting.

The 150-odd tongawallahs in the walled city had been granted licence to ply till May 31.

They now either need to shift to the newly allotted tehbazari site in Shastri Park in east Delhi or adopt a different trade.

The tongawallahs are refusing to shift, claiming that MCD has gone back on its words.

The MCD had promised to allot plots and create concrete tehbazari sites equipped with public amenities for 132 licensed tongawallahs, and partly finance three-wheelers for those who two or more tongas.

According to tongawallahs, in place of concrete stalls, a concrete pavement-like structure has been created alongside the main GT road near the Shastri Park metro track.