Encroachments choke Sec 26 grain market

Mohit Khanna 

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 17

Encroachments galore at the road leading to the Sector 26 grain market. Fruit and vegetable vendors have occupied pavements and put up shanties to store the perishable goods. The authorities concerned have also turned a blind eye to rehri operators who are selling fruits alongside the road and the roundabout.

The encroachment has shrunk the width of the road making it accident prone for commuters. Chaos prevails at the grain market during the morning hours with suppliers arriving for loading and unloading of vegetables and fruits.

Besides, many schools are also located in the vicinity of the grain market. The area turns into a bottleneck early in the morning as several school buses could be seen stranded on the road due to encroachments by the fruit vendors.

Residents, who park their cars in front of rehris to purchase fruits and vegetables, also add to the chaos. Though recovery vans of the Traffic Police remained stationed on the road, they it hardly clears the traffic.

“Traffic chaos is a routine feature during the morning and evening hours and nothing much has been done to redress the problem. People also refuse to learn and lead to traffic jam by parking their cars in front of rehris,” said Tarun a commuter who was stuck in jam after a resident had parked the car in the middle of the road to buy fruits.

He said stalls of fruits and vegetables and other items were increasing day by day on the roadside due to the absence of regular checking.

Sonu, who was selling bananas on the roadside, said: “The police harass us a lot and take away fruits. We cannot do anything as we have to earn our living from here.”

Iron grills installed on the road divider have also been dismantled and pose a traffic hazard. Interestingly, police colony falls merely a few meters away from the grain market, but traffic cops living in the nearby colony look the other way and ignore rampant encroachments.

Surinder, who sells lassi a few meters away from the grain market, quipped, “What you think these fruit vendors are encroaching upon the road for free. They grease the palm of Municipal Corporation employees concerned for encroaching upon the road.”