TOBA TEK SINGH
Shopkeepers blocked traffic on Toba-Rajana Road near general bus stand as a protest Assistant Commissioner Wasif Bashir who along with his staff sealed some of the 40 shops located outside Racha Club over rent issue.
Anjuman Tajiran Secretary General Mian Mohsin Idrees said that the AC was forcing the shopkeepers to pay rent to the club although they were paying the rent for the last several years to TMA. He added that a delegation of shopkeepers had met with DCO Amer Ijaz Akbar and talks were underway with DCO on the issue. Meanwhile, the AC reached the site and started sealing the shops, and not only he misbehaved with Anjuman office-bearers but also his staff tortured some of the shopkeepers, he said. Later, talks were held between the AC and traders and sealed shops were unsealed over which traders ended the protest.
Addressing a press conference, Idrees added that three years ago, the shopkeepers were forced to demolish their shops and they were given alternate land where they rebuilt the shops by spending huge money. But now to create funds for a club which was only used by officers or the rich people, poor shopkeepers were being forced to pay rent to the club instead of TMA, he said.
He warned that if they were again harassed or their shops were sealed the Anjuman will issue a call to the citizens for a shutter down strike against the AC.