PHAGWARA, October 23, 2026: The Phagwara Market Committee carried out a major anti-encroachment operation at the city’s Dana Mandi and vegetable market on Thursday, removing around 50 huts and temporary kiosks that officials said had been set up without authorisation on government land.
A Market Committee team reached the mandi accompanied by a sizeable police contingent to ensure that the operation was carried out without any law-and-order disturbance. Temporary structures identified by the committee as encroachments were removed and the occupied portions of the market land were cleared.
Market Committee Chairman Anurag Mankhand said the issue of unauthorised occupation inside the mandi complex had repeatedly been brought to his attention after he assumed office.
According to the committee, some of the temporary structures had been occupied by families and individuals who had been living within the mandi premises. Officials said the action was taken on the basis of the status of the land and the alleged lack of authorisation for occupying it.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of Market Committee Secretary Rupinder Singh, along with supervisors and other staff members. Police personnel remained deployed at the site throughout the exercise.
Mankhand said the committee had undertaken a similar operation around three weeks earlier, when approximately 40 temporary structures were removed. According to him, some structures subsequently appeared again, prompting the latest action.
Officials said complaints had also been received from commission agents and other people associated with the mandi about unauthorised occupation affecting the functioning and security of the market complex.
Some traders had reported theft of electrical wiring and other material from the mandi and had also raised concerns over gatherings in parts of the premises after business hours. However, no individual resident of the removed structures should be considered responsible for those incidents unless such involvement is established through a police investigation.
Kulwant Rai, associated with the Dana Mandi and the commission agents’ body, supported the Market Committee’s decision and said unauthorised structures should not be allowed to interfere with the normal functioning of the grain market.
Other commission agents and traders, including Harvinder Singh, Anil Gupta, Gurdeep Kumar, Ladi Sharma and Rajnish Soni, also welcomed the action and called for continued enforcement against fresh encroachments.
The Market Committee chairman said government land within the mandi would not be allowed to be occupied through unauthorised temporary or permanent construction. He added that officials would continue monitoring the area and could take fresh action if structures were put up again without permission.
Thursday’s operation comes amid broader efforts by local authorities in Phagwara to deal with encroachments in public and commercial areas.
The immediate focus of the Market Committee will now be on preventing the cleared portions of the mandi from being occupied again while ensuring that the premises remain accessible for farmers, commission agents, traders and other authorised users.
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