Encroachments eat into space at markets
Sukhdeep Singh
Chandigarh, March 20
In the City Beautiful people avoid visiting the local markets due to encroachments by shopkeepers and street vendors. Not enough has been done by the Municipal Corporation to curb the activity. Rules and conditions have been thrown to the winds by the violators.
Local resident Parmod Kumar said," he has to walk in the parking under the sun because the corridors of the market are being used by shopkeepers for displaying their material."
Amanpreet Kaur, a visitor to Sector 15 market said, "The Sector 15 market is a big example of mismanagement by the MC. There is no place to park cars and no place to walk in the corridors. The space left is being used by street vendors to display their objects."
The shopkeepers have installed wooden boards in the corridors which make it difficult for visitors to walk. This is done in every sector market of the UT specially, Patel Market, Sector 15 and Shastri Bazaar, Sector 22, which are overcrowded. People feel suffocated to go there as there is no place to walk due to vendors sitting outside the shops without the permission of the Municipal Corporation.
The condition of Sector 19 is good as there is proper provision for parking and there are no encroachments in Sadar Bazaar, while Sectors 22 and 15 are mismanaged in terms of parking and encroachments. Virender Chaudhary, Joint Commissioner of MC, said "In Sectors 15 and 22, things will get better soon. We are trying to arrange workers who will be working in other sectors of Chandigarh to facilitate encroachment free zone".
