LUDHIANA, Aug. 24 — A late-night confrontation broke out near Bharat Nagar Chowk on Saturday after a Municipal Corporation (MC) team moved in to clear food stalls from the well-known “Parantha Market,” sparking heated arguments and a physical clash.
The incident occurred around 11 p.m., when MC officials attempted to dismantle stalls operating under the bridge. Eyewitnesses said the situation escalated quickly after some civic employees allegedly misbehaved with women present at the site, drawing anger from vendors and bystanders.
Police from Division No. 5 were called to the spot to control the crowd. “The intervention of police prevented the situation from spiraling further,” an eyewitness noted. Officers eventually restored order and dispersed the gathering.
According to vendors, the enforcement drive was carried out without warning. They claimed the action stemmed from a complaint linked to a clash between two groups at the same market a night earlier. “We were not informed beforehand. If the authorities had given us notice, we would not have set up our stalls,” one vendor said.
Several stall owners accused the MC staff of acting arbitrarily. They argued they had received verbal approval from the local Station House Officer (SHO) to continue operations until midnight. “We were told we could work under the bridge until 12, and we have been doing so peacefully,” another vendor said, calling the sudden removal “unfair” and “a blow to livelihoods.”
Market members further alleged that the civic team used high-handed methods and lacked transparency in its approach. Their protest, they said, was not just about Saturday night’s disruption but about the absence of coordination between civic authorities and informal vendors.
Police officials present at the spot said the situation had been defused. “The matter is under control now,” a police officer stated, while refusing to comment on the allegations of misbehavior by municipal staff.
The incident once again brought to focus the strained relationship between civic enforcement drives and vendors in Ludhiana’s informal food markets, where livelihoods often collide with regulatory action.
