MANSEHRA: The traders of Oghi tehsil observed a complete shutter down strike and staged a sit-in on Wednesday to protest raids on their shops and imposition of heavy fines by the local administration.

During the sit-in at Milad Chowk, the protesters demanded a strict action against the assistant commissioner, who raided and sealed many shops selling polythene bags. They resented the crackdown ahead of Ramazan.

“Assistant commissioner Babar Khan Tanoli sealed polythene shops and imposed heavy fines on their owners. All this is unacceptable to us,” president of the traders’ body Sarblund Khan said. He said that traders were not responsible for price hike and that if the government wanted to stabilise prices of essential items it should crack down on the wholesale markets in major cities from where goods were brought to the tehsil.

Trader leaders Shoaib Khan and Sarblund Khan held talks with assistant superintendent of police Mukhtar Khan and the assistant commissioner and asked the mob to disperse after an order was issued for the unsealing of shops and withdrawal of fines.

AC Tanoli said the tehsil administration wanted to control prices and the crackdown was meant for that purpose.

“We cannot allow anyone to sell goods at the rates of own choice,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, four commuters were injured when a wagon plunged into a deep ravine in Susal area here on Wednesday. The residents shifted the injured to a nearby hospital where the condition of all of them was stated to be out of danger.

The local police registered an FIR and began investigation to ascertain the cause of incident.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2019