Kiosks turning into luxury eateries, MC in slumber

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 18

The estate office of the Municipal Corporation (MC) removes articles lying outside the roadside vends to justify its anti-encroachment drive in the city, but new kiosks keep on cropping up and the existing ones continue to be converted into permanent shops and luxury eateries as the civic body looks the other way.

During the last few weeks, estate and sanitary officials have several times removed encroachments alongside Majitha Road. Employees often seize stools, empty crates and movable vends from the road.

Vendors reconstruct the kiosks with heavy investment. Last year, an illegal kiosk owner got it converted to a luxury juice bar. It encouraged other traders to grab a kiosk to open franchise on prime locations. Now, several prominent local food brands are seeking space on footpaths to establish roadside eateries. A few have been succeeded as the MC has turned a blind eye to permanent encroachments.

Now, some encroachers are reconstructing their kiosks with luxury material. According to information, one man has invested lakhs of rupees to make his kiosk look like a European-styled eatery.

Radhe Krishan, a vendor, said, “Employees of the Municipal Corporation visit twice a week and seize our baskets and crates. Meanwhile, illegal kiosk owners are making permanent shops. Several kiosks have turned into shops during the last few years. No one takes action against major violators, who encroached the footpaths.”

When contacted, MC Estate Officer Sushant Bhatia said, “No one will be exempted. We will take action against such violators soon.”