HYDERABAD, Oct 5: Unhygienic conditions continued to prevail in and around the city's Sabzi Mandi on Tuesday, causing traffic jams on the Gharib Nawaz Bridge and the market roundabout.

It appeared that no efforts was under way to clean the biggest fruit and vegetable market of the city as no sanitary worker has turned up to clear it of heaps of garbage.

The labourers working in the market are wearing long boots while carrying bags of vegetables and fruits. A labourer claimed that sanitary staff had not turned up in the market as a result garbage continued to accumulate at several places in it, and appealed to the authorities to ensure a clean environment in the market.

Since the pickups and trucks carrying fruit and vegetables could not pass through the main entrance of the market, they were stopped on the bridge, leading to worst traffic jams on it and the road.

The bridge connects the Gulshan-i-Hali area and the main bus stand with the rest of the city including the Hyderabad Railway station. The width of the dilapidated road has been reduced as vegetables and fruits have been kept on the roadside by the wholesalers for sale.

Since the area is also the hub of passenger vans, the traffic conditions have become more chaotic while traffic police, posted there for regulating the traffic, can be seen sitting on the benches around the roundabout.

However, Latifabad Taluka Nazim Abdul Jabbar Khan said that 10 sanitary workers had been deputed at the market and their regular attendance confirmed by the commission agents' group.

He said that the Market Committee was basically responsible for providing facilities at the market. Meanwhile, traffic jams were also witnessed on Qazi Abdul Qayyum Road, Kohinoor Chowk and Hyder Chowk after the shopkeepers of old spare parts market burnt tyres and blocked Kohinoor Chowk and Station Road to protest against accumulation of drain water outside Qadamgah-i-Maula Ali.

The traffic was diverted to streets. The protesters claimed that accumulation of drain water in the area had become a perennial problem and the Water and Sanitation Agency had failed to solve the problem.

The protesters were led by the office-bearers of the Anjuman-i-Tahffuz-i-Dukandaran, Raees Ahmed Qureshi, Aijaz Qureshi and others. They claimed that they had informed the officials of Wasa and the Hyderabad Development Authority on several occasions but no one had taken notice of the problem.

They said that drain water had accumulated on the roads after sewerage lines had been blocked with filth. The SHO of Fort took a delegation of the protesters to a Wasa office after which they ended their protest.

It was learnt that a sewerage line at the Barkat Bhai disposal pumping station had leaked, therefore, flow of sewerage had slowed down. A Wasa official claimed that one out of three motors was working at the pumping station.