Fruit, vegetable traders demonstration on April 5

03 Apr, 2009

Fruit and vegetable traders on Sunday, April 5 will hold a protest demonstration in front of the market committee office at New Sabzi Mandi against the eight years of frustrating administrative rule by the Sindh Agriculture Department.
The Secretary, Joint Action Committee of traders, Abdul Khaliq Yousuf told Business Recorder on Thursday that the Sindh Agriculture Department, the regulatory body of the Mandi affairs, has so far failed to address the genuine problems of traders of the market.
He said that the Department is receiving double pool fee on the commodities per container, which is a clear violation of the rules. Further, he said that the traders want the government to carry out the audit of eight-year pool fee, which the Mandi administration received from the traders.
Further to support their demand, Yousuf said that according to the rules, forty percent of the fee collected from the traders, should be spent on market, 60 percent on administration and other Mandi affairs, but the allocation is unseen till date. Traders also want a complete end to the adhocism in the market, said.
We demand a transparent representation of elected growers and traders to run their affairs inline with the rules, he pointed out. Earlier, workers of a political party were allegedly practising forceful weekly extortion from the traders. However, the illegal practice has declined with the stationing of Pakistan Rangers in the area, he said.

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