Agra Petha
The city of Agra is as famous for its Taj Mahal. He is known for his peeths. But, now the taste of Agra Petha may fade. Because local shopkeepers and factories are in danger there. Due to increasing pollution in the area, the Supreme Court has decided to remove all the Petha units located in the Taj Trapezium Zone from there, which can make a dent on Petha’s business of 500 crores. At the same time, the jobs of about 5 thousand people are also under threat.
The Supreme Court has ordered the UP government to remove all the Petha units running in the Taj Trapezium Zone in which an area of 10,400 square kilometers which includes Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri from there. Also, the Supreme Court has given the government 3 months to settle the factories at different places. The next hearing on this matter is to be held on 23 September.
500 crore business and 5 thousand jobs
In the ET report, Girish Kumar Singhal, who has set up a Pethe shop near Noori Gate, says that his family does the same thing for the last 25 years. If his shop is removed from here, he will not be able to escape. They do not have enough money to open a new shop at another place. He makes and sells 1 thousand kg of Petha daily. According to the Taj Trapezium Zone officials, the business of Petha of Agra is about Rs 500 crore. If shops and factories are removed, the employment of about 5000 people can be threatened.
Action has been taken earlier also
This is not the first time this is not taking action against companies making Petha in Agra. Earlier, in the year 1996, due to environmental regulations, the Supreme Court had banned the use of coal in the factories running in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ). After this, in the year 2013 too, the court had decided to stop the coal going to factories and banned coal carrying trucks.