Encroachments back on Novelty Chowk footpaths

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 16

Barely 10 days after the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) conducted a drive to remove illegal encroachments from the footpaths at Novelty Chowk, the situation is back to square one as the food stalls have placed chairs and tables for the customers. The AIT had seized tables, chairs and other items during an anti-encroachment drive and a kiosk owner was also booked for obstructing government servants from performing their duty. As the Novelty chowk area had become a favourite spot for food lovers, it has become prone to traffic jams.

After the AIT took action, the local police too had installed barricades alongside the stretch to discourage people from parking their cars. However, a visit to the place on Monday revealed that the residents have started parking vehicles alongside the barricades further aggravating the problem.

“The problem of traffic congestion has even increased presently as earlier the vehicles were parking near the footpaths and now there is a gap of at least 10 feet as the police has installed barricades,” said a shopkeeper adding that police post on the Lawrence road is nearly 70 meters from the place but the cops have failed to streamline the traffic here.

The residents stated that there was no logic in taking action if the shopkeepers are allowed to encroach upon the footpaths again. “The drive by the administration had certainly yielded results and the problem of traffic congestion at the chowk was solved to a great extent. If the administration failed to take action now, the problem would increase in coming days,” said Satinder Singh, a local resident.

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