Extortion: Vendors protest against TMA inspectors

FAISALABAD:

Scores of vendors from various parts of Madina Town on Saturday staged a protest demonstration against inspectors of the town municipal authority.

The protesters carried banners and placards and gathered at Zila Council Chowk where they staged in front of the district government secretariat.

Talking to newsmen, Nazir Hussain said “We take our donkey carts to various parts of Madina Town to sell fruits and vegetables.” He said recently, TMA inspectors had started harassing them. “They demand money and threaten to confiscate our carts if we fail to pay up,” he said.

He said some TMA inspectors had confiscated their carts and had damaged them.

“Some of the vendors who refused to pay were implicated in encroachment cases,” he said.

The protesters chanted slogans against the TMA inspectors and demanded action against them. They also blocked University Road for traffic.

Rana Tanveer from the DCO’s office, met the vendors and assured them that their complaint would be investigated and action would be taken against those found extorting money from them.

The DCO’s representative also assured them that they would be allocated space for their stalls.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2015.