Holy city tag puts meat, alcohol, tobacco traders in Amritsar’s walled city at risk

CHANDIGARH: The ban on meat, alcohol and tobacco shops in the walled city of Amritsar, following its notification as a ‘holy city’ by the AAP-led Punjab government, has put the livelihoods of hundreds of families at risk, casting uncertainty over generations-old businesses.The notification, issued to preserve the sanctity of the area surrounding the Golden Temple, has resulted in around 150 establishments selling meat, fish, alcohol and tobacco being allegedly forced to shut down. Traders and shopkeepers have raised strong objections, saying they were neither given adequate notice nor provided with alternative arrangements.The affected shopkeepers and vendors have decided to meet the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner, the Municipal Corporation Commissioner and the Mayor, and submit a memorandum highlighting their concerns. They held a meeting at Gol Bagh on Friday, during which they argued that instead of covering the entire walled city, the government should have restricted the ban to areas immediately surrounding the Golden Temple and Durgiana Mandir.While stating that they have no objection to the walled city being declared a holy city, Gurjeet Singh, a third-generation owner of Gurjeet Fish Company, said the decision threatens the existence of Punjab’s oldest wholesale fish market.“There are three major fish markets in Punjab, in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. Here in Amritsar, we have 14 commission agents (artiyas) in the wholesale fish market, which has existed for the last 70 years. We procure fish from Vietnam, Himachal Pradesh and other places, and sell it across the state. Our fish even goes to Srinagar,” he said.Singh said they have already met the Mayor and will now meet the Deputy Commissioner. “Our demand is simple. The fish season is starting from January and runs till April. Until then, we should not be relocated. After that, the government should provide all 14 of us a suitable place together within Amritsar, and not far away, as the market functions collectively,” he added.Rajinder Kumar, a fourth-generation fish trader, claimed that there are 18 suppliers, with each shop employing several workers. “This was the first wholesale fish market of the state and even today supplies fish across Punjab. With this order, generations of business are affected,” he said.



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