Amritsar: Amritsar municipal corporation on Saturday claimed to have shifted all the tobacco vends from the Walled City. However, it is yet to begin the shifting of meat shops and liquor vends from the area.The Punjab govt had issued a notification on Dec 15 last year declaring Amritsar’s Walled City a Holy City and prohibiting the sale and use of meat, tobacco products, and alcohol within its limits. Jai Inder Singh, joint commissioner, Amritsar MC, informed that all the tobacco shops were successfully shifted from the walled city. There may be a couple of khokhas (kiosks) left in the city, these will also be shifted, he added.About the meat shops, including the famous Hall Bazar Fish Market, Jai Inder Singh said since they had successfully moved tobacco shops outside the Walled City, the next step would be to move the meat shops.Rajinder Kumar, a fourth-generation fish trader operating inside the Hall Gate Fish Market, said they did not receive any information about an alternate place for them.Meanwhile, anger is growing among the shopkeepers over the ban on the sale of paan and meat in the Walled City limits. A delegation of tobacco shopkeepers met Shri Durgiana Temple Committee president Lakshmikanta Chawla and apprised her of their problems.The traders said the govt’s decision left them mentally disturbed. Former Congress MLA Sunil Dutt was also present during the meeting and listened to the concerns raised by the shopkeepers.Chawla said if the Punjab govt declared Amritsar a holy city, then the decision should be implemented uniformly across the entire city. She said restricting the sale of paan, bidi, meat, and liquor only in certain parts of the Walled City was not appropriate. If such a policy is to be enforced, it should apply to the whole of Amritsar so that no particular shopkeeper faces discrimination, she said. MSID:: 129573924 413 |
