Remove encroachments, MC tells kiosk owners

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 8

A joint team of Municipal Corporation’s estate wing and Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) officials inspected the outer circular road around the walled city here on Saturday.

They asked the owners of kiosks and establishments to remove permanent and temporary encroachments. They were told if they failed to implement the instructions, the MC would remove these encroachments all after 15 days.

Estate officer Sushant Bhatia, senior urban planner of the ASCL Gautam Mitra, structure engineer Tarun Syal, urban transport specialist Jitendra Wadhwani and transport expert Juzer Kheraluwal visited Chatiwind and Khajana Gate.

The officers warned the encroachers on the left side to leave government land.

The government is going to redevelop the 7.5-km stretch around the walled city and all encroachments will be removed.

Meanwhile, the estate wing removed encroachments from the fish market, which have been occupied by mischievous persons, on Saturday. But, vendors and shopkeepers in the market opposed the move.

“The MC has been redeveloping heritage from Ram Bagh to Hall Gate. A multistory parking under the Smart City project is proposed on the land. So, we will not tolerate encroachments,” said Sushant Bhatia.

No action against violator

A day before Friday, the MC had sealed 50 shops and establishments on the walled city. The owner of a liquor vend had broken open the seal of the vend soon after the MC team left. It is on the footpath and creates a nuisance in smooth flow of traffic.

MC officials are aware of the violation, but failed to take action.