SWABI: The traders on Monday staged a protest demonstration in the district headquarters here on Monday against fines and sealing of shops by officials during raids.

The protest was triggered when the district administration officials visited the bazaars and started fining the traders and sealing shops over violation of the business restrictions.

When the officials were sealing a shoe shop heated arguments took place between the office-bearers of the local traders’ body and the officials.

The officials made it clear that the district administration would ensure compliance with the lockdown as the measure had been taken to check spread of coronavirus.

The government has enforced lockdown from May 8 to 16, allowing only essential services to remain open.

The traders held a protest meeting at the Karnal Sher Khan Chowk and vowed to continue the protest.

Speaking on the occasion, Anjuman-i-Dokandaran president Mohammad Ali declared that they would continue to fight for the rights of traders.

He said the newly-elected office-bearers of the traders’ body were under pressure from their colleagues to keep the shops open during the last days of Ramazan.

The situation turned more tense when Mohammad Ali became unconscious during the protest and had to be taken to the district headquarters hospital.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, the district administration had also called the army to the troubled spot to deal with any untoward incident.

When contacted, deputy commissioner Shahid Mehmood claimed the situation was under control and that the issues with the traders had been resolved.

Separately, the administration sealed a hostel of a private nursing college in Ghareeb Abad area and registered a case against its management for defying the lockdown.

The officials during a surprise raid found that the students were taking classes in the hostel.

Swabi additional assistant commissioner Adil Waseem led the raid.

Officials said the raid was made on a tip-off that the college management had indulged in flagrant violation of the closure orders by conducting classes in the hostel.

They said the college’s management had asked the students to come to the institution without uniform in a bid to hoodwink the authorities.

The officials got registered an FIR in the Swabi city police station against the college management.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2021