The illegal furniture market in Sectors 53 and 54, running since 1985, will be demolished today, July 20. UT estate officer and deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav confirmed the action and said over 1,000 police officers will be present to maintain peace during the demolition.
The market has 116 shops spread over 15 acres of agricultural land. Nearly 1,000 people work in these shops. Located between Chandigarh and Mohali, the market often causes traffic jams due to improper parking.
The market is also unsafe, with poor fire-safety measures and highly flammable materials like thinners stored in shops. Several fires have occurred there in the past.
In the early 1990s, the administration tried to remove the market, but the traders got a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1993. In 2002, the administration bought part of the land, but traders again went to court when removal efforts restarted. In September 2023, the court dismissed the petitions, allowing the government to take back the land.
An eviction notice was issued in June 2024, asking shopkeepers to leave within a week. The traders requested to buy shops in the new Bulk Material Market in Sector 56 through auction and offered to pay rent in the meantime. But the administration rejected their proposal and decided to go ahead with the demolition.
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