MINGORA: A large number of fruit and vegetable dealers on Saturday blocked the Shahdara-Watkey Road here against the shifting of fruit and vegetable market from Mingora to Udigram.

Led by Sher Alam, president of the Mingora fruit and vegetable market association, the protesters alleged that officials of the tehsil municipal administration on the orders of the Malakand divisional administration had shifted the fruit and vegetable market from Mingora to Udigram to benefit a few people.

“By shifting the fruit market out of Mingora, the municipal and divisional administrations have deprived over 500,000 people of their livelihood sources. They said officials of the tehsil municipal administration had blocked all the entry gates of the fruit and vegetable market in Mingora which was illegal.

“Over 110 fruit and vegetable dealers and agents have been forcibly evicted from the fruit market in Mingora due to which they are faced with multiple issues,” they said and added that the new fruit and vegetable market was set up at a distant and unsuitable place.

The traders alleged that the officials of the municipal body and divisional administration were taking bribes and demanded of NAB to intervene into the matter and take action against the corrupt mafia.

The higher authorities, including Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Prime Minister Imran Khan, should order an inquiry against the officials responsible for shifting the market, they demanded.

They said that their peaceful protest would continue until their demands were met. They said that they did not want to harm the hard-earned peace in Swat but the divisional and the tehsil municipal administrations were forcing the poor people to do so, they warned and said that if anything unpleasant happened, the responsibility would fall on the shoulders of commissioner Malakand division and officials of Mingora TMA.

On the other hand, general public and transporters welcomed the move of shifting the fruit and vegetable market out of Mingora. They said that it should have been shifted long ago as it was creating traffic congestion in Mingora.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2019