New building at Vallah-Mehta road ready, a few shops already allotted Manmeet Singh Gill Amritsar, April 29 The famous ‘Machhi Mandi’ (fish market) is set to be relocated as the administration has planned to shift it to Vallah-Mehta road here. A building has been constructed by the Punjab Mandi Board to serve the purpose. The board has also handed over the building to the market committee and a few shops have also been allotted. However, fish traders, running their business from the Hall Gate market, are reluctant to move as they feel that making a fresh beginning in a new place will result in a plunge in earnings for them. “The market is outside city. It will not be safe to reach there in the early morning hours and return late in the evening. Moreover, retail customers will not go to that market as it is situated outside the city,” said a fish trader, who wished not to be named. He said many traders had purchased shops in the new market as they knew that sooner or later they would have to shift. “But given the option, people will prefer to operate from this place,” he said. The ‘Machhi Mandi’, located in the heart of the city, has inconvenienced the nearby shopkeepers and residents as smell emanates from the fish round the clock. Even the fish waste is getting mixed with the sewage, complain residents. Officials of the Mandi Board said the shifting of the market would be good for the city as well as the traders as the new market is equipped with all facilities, such as treatment plant and electricity generators. District Mandi Officer Jasbir Singh Pannu said efforts were on to shift the market to the new place.

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