HYDERABAD: The spaces within old Sabzi Mandi which had been in use of wholesale fruit traders until recently were taken over by their vegetable counterparts on Sunday in formers’ absence. No fruit auction took place in old Sabzi Mandi, located off Hali Road, on Sunday.

Vegetable sellers held auction of their merchandise using fruit traders’ spaces and also did their usual business. Wholesale fruit traders have not yet vacated their shops/premises as they are still fighting a case in Sindh High Court, Hyder­abad, through different petitions.

According to Najamuddin Qureshi, a representative of fruit traders, no auction in New Sabzi Mandi, located off lined channel, could be held.

“We have kept fruits in stores because we didn’t send our stocks to the new site,” he said, adding that wholesale vegetable sellers were doing their business in the old Sabzi Mandi as usual although they were also required to vacate their spaces apparently in anticipation of some sort of relief. Both vegetable sellers and fruit traders are approaching higher authorities for such relief and they are optimistic too.

Altaf Memon, who represents vegetable sellers, told Dawn that respondents in the above-mentioned petitions “have misled court” by submitting that complete infrastructure existed at New Sabzi Mandi and that traders had already moved to the new site. The administration had also “misled court on March 19 when they filed an application on the basis of home department’s March 14 notification”, he added.

In this notification, he pointed out, nowhere it was mentioned that the old Sabzi Mandi was to be shifted. He said that the administration wanted to create a division between wholesale fruit traders and vegetable sellers by declaring that only 30pc of them would have to shift their businesses.

“Our transactions run into millions of rupees a day yet the administration is not giving us any letter pertaining to the eviction from old Sabzi Mandi,” claimed Mr Memon.

On Saturday evening, civil administration backed by a police force blocked fruit supplies from entering the old Mandi in order to force traders to move to the new site.

Latifabad Assistant Comm­issioner Faraz Siddiqui supervised the operation.

Police didn’t allow fruit-laden vehicles to enter the Mandi from six different ways by blocking the entry points at Tando Yousuf, Tando Mohammad Khan Road, Moha­mmad Chowk, Sabzi Mandi Chowk, Kanch Mill and Al-Waheed Morr.

Mr Siddiqui claimed that all required facilities had been provided at New Sabzi Mandi.

Najamuddin Qureshi said the administration told traders that no auction activity would be allowed for the next three days at the old Mandi.

He said their petition in the high court was fixed for March 24. On Thursday, a division bench of Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit modified its earlier stay order given in favour of vegetable market’s representatives by allowing the administration to take measures in line with Sindh government’s March 14 notification in view of coronavirus situation.

The petitioners in this case claimed that the administration was using coronavirus situation as an excuse to cover corruption in the affairs of the New Sabzi Mandi project.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2020