Rahimpur vegetable market in Hoshiarpur faces severe filth, Labour Party alleges

Rahimpur vegetable market in Hoshiarpur faces severe filth, Labour Party alleges

Hoshiarpur /Daljeet Ajnoha/May 25

Labour Party president Jai Gopal Dhiman on Monday levelled serious allegations of negligence against the Market Board, Municipal Corporation and the Health Department over the dilapidated sanitation at the Rahimpur vegetable market. He said the market’s filthy conditions — reeking odours, swarms of flies and mosquitoes, and pervasive dust and dirt — have made produce sold there a growing health hazard.

Dhiman said that even after 78 years of independence, residents still do not have access to a clean vegetable market despite crores being collected from farmers, vendors and commission agents as market fees. He charged that these funds are being siphoned off through corruption instead of being used to improve the facilities.

He claimed that heaps of garbage even litter the area behind the Market Board offices and that there has been no meaningful improvement in cleanliness. According to Dhiman, the District Health Officer and food safety officials have also failed to take stern action on the matter.

Dhiman argued that the present condition of the market violates citizens’ right to health under Article 21 of the Constitution, amounts to a breach of human rights, and contravenes the objectives of the Swachh Bharat mission. He said a complaint has been filed with the Punjab State Human Rights Commission.

He added that photographs of the market have been sent to the central government, the World Health Organization, the Prime Minister’s Office and other concerned agencies. Dhiman appealed to residents to visit the market themselves to see the conditions with their own eyes.

Labour Party president Jai Gopal Dhiman has accused the Market Board, Municipal Corporation and Health Department of gross negligence over filthy and unhygienic conditions at Hoshiarpur’s Rahimpur vegetable market. He warned that foul odours, flies, mosquitoes and accumulated garbage are turning the market’s produce into a public‑health risk and said a complaint has been filed with the Punjab State Human Rights Commission.