Hygiene takes back seat at Chandigarh's Sector 26 veggie market

Drishti Vashishta

Chandigarh, August 4

Piles of garbage and insanitary conditions greet visitors to the Sector 26 fruit and vegetable market here.

Visitors have to bear with foul smell as they enter the market owing to a garbage dump, which remains a bane of vendors, traders and customers alike.

Monsoon rains have made matters worse as stagnant water on potholed roads turns into slush, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk. Vendors and shopkeepers say insanitary conditions make for a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. Dumped rotten vegetables and fruits not only make the area dirty, but also cause foul smell.

Will get roads fixed

I have filed several complaints in this regard with the MC. Stagnant water is due to bad roads and I will get it resolved. —Dalip Sharma, Area Councillor

“The area remains perpetually inundated during the monsoon season, affecting our livelihood. Authorities have failed to take serious steps to improve the condition of the market,” says a vendor.

“Although the market is cleaned up time to time, it is a mere formality. We have to clean up the area when we put up stalls,” says a roadside vendor.

“We are reluctant complain to the higher authorities as we have to earn our bread and butter from here,” says another.

Ramanpreet Singh, a shopkeeper, says: “It is high time the authorities take a serious view of the insanitary conditions at the market, which have the potential of spreading vector-borne diseases such malaria, diarrhoea. The stench emanating from rotten vegetables and fruits has made life difficult for area residents.”

“I have filed several complaints in this regard with the MC and have been taking up the matter regularly. The stagnant water is due to bad roads and I will get it resolved,” says area councillor Dalip Sharma.

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