Vendors stage protest against Mohali civic body

MOHALI: Around hundred tobacco vendors under Mohali Retail Association took out a protest march against the Mohali municipal corporation's decision of securing licences to sell tobacco .


Retailers across the city gathered in front of the Mohali municipal corporation office in Sector 68 with banners to show their anger against 'licence raj'.

Recently, the MC announced that all tobacco vendors will have to obtain licences for selling tobacco products. Following this, vendors met Mohali mayor Kulwant Singh and termed the decision harsh.

The mayor assured the vendors that the decision would hardly impact them. He also assured that the MC would charge a nominal fee. He added that issuing licences was important to control sale of tobacco to underage customers.

Meanwhile, protesters said the vendors who work honestly and follow the rules are likely to get impacted. Varun Kumar, general secretary of the association, said, "Even though the mayor has assured that none of us will face any problem, we don't know for sure if the new guidelines will be in our favour."

"MC officials frequently take away our vehicles and sometimes don't even give receipts. After the new move, we fear, that our problems will only increase. It is difficult for a vendor to leave his daily wage and focus on completing licence formalities," he added.