Amritsar MC launches anti-encroachment campaign to decongest city roads
Amritsar, October 22
With marketplaces witnessing rampant encroachments, the traffic police and MC officials jointly have started an anti-encroachment drive to decongest roads and market areas.
Several months ago, traffic police led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Parminder Singh Bhandal and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Amandeep Kaur had removed encroachments from major roads and markets by making painstaking efforts with consistent and continuous anti-encroachment drives. The police had even threatened to register FIRs against the offenders.
However, with the police and civic body officials loosening the noose on violators due to various reasons, these encroachments are back on the roads.
“People never mend their ways. During the drive, cops as well as civic body officials warned the shop owners against illegal extension of their shops. Now, as the festive season is round the corner, the situation has started turning from bad to worse,” said a traffic cop wishing not to be named. Encroachments on the already congested roads are one of the major reasons behind frequent traffic chaos on roads.
Bhandal said drives had been launched to remove encroachments as people were facing problems like getting no space to walk. He said it would remain continue in the future also.
Meanwhile, MC officials removed encroachments from the old vegetable market, Hall Gate, Hathi Gate, Lohgarh Gate, BK Dutt Gate and from near Durgiana Temple areas.
Sushant Bhatia, Secretary-cum-Estate Officer, Municipal Corporation, said owing to the festive season, devotees visiting the holy shrines were facing problems of frequent jams that prompted the civic body officials to launch the drive.
During the drive, the officials removed encroachments from footpaths and illegally extended shops, besides removing pull carts from the road. Bhatia said it was found that some unscrupulous elements had encroached the old octroi office where carts were being parked in an illegal manner which were removed. A tent house owner had encroached on a commercial shop of the MC.
