Zirakpur: Encroachments on VIP Road spell chaos

Tribune News Service

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Zirakpur, March 10

Several encroachments on VIP Road and nearby market areas leave road users and visitors an inconvenienced lot. It gives a chaotic look to the place, besides causing traffic and parking woes for residents.

While the roadside is occupied by several hand carts and food vans, the parking area is mushrooming with makeshift eateries with colourful canopies. Confectionary shops and restaurant owners paying hefty rent complain that their customers are lured away by the street vendors, who deliver food to the cars parked on roadsides.

‘’It leads to a traffic jam on the narrow road, making it difficult for residents to reach home. It also becomes the cause of drunken brawl and road rage incidents, said KS Bhatnagar, a resident of Savitri Greens.

On October 10 last year, a 35-year-old Himachal Pradesh native was shot dead on VIP Road in a road rage incident over overtaking.

The Municipal Council and police officials said the enforcement wing of the civic body kept a check on encroachments regularly, but they were short-staffed to handle the large and ever-growing commercial establishments.