Unauthorised vendors hinder traffic flow in Baddi

Solan, June 7

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Unauthorised kiosks and rehris selling fruit and vegetables along the roads have become a bane for smooth flow of vehicular traffic in the Baddi industrial area as they encroach upon the road and impede vehicular traffic.

While Sai road was the worst affected, other nearby roads like the Baddi-Nalagarh highway has also been encroached upon by roadside vendors selling household items.

Traffic management has become a Herculean task on the Sai Road and other such places as the number of unauthorised structures was registering an increase with each passing day. With a migrant population of over a lakh, a large number of migrants can be found selling tea, biscuits, snacks and household wares on kiosks at every nook and corner.

SDM Nalagarh Mahendra Pal said complaints about encroachments were pouring in from the residents and EO Baddi MC and police has been directed to rid the roads of illegal structures.

Their increasing number has become a headache for the police as the width of the road has shrunk considerably at crowded places like the Sai Road. With a large number of industries located on the Sai road, industrial vehicles use this road throughout the day.

The large number of vehicles parked along the road adds to the problem and traffic management becomes an arduous task even for police.

Executive Officer, Baddi, Municipal Committee, RS Verma, while agreeing that kiosks are posing a problem to the smooth flow of traffic on the Sai Road and other places, said a joint campaign has been initiated with the help of police where such vendors have been warned to remove encroachments within seven days or face action.

He said that given the large population of migrants in this industrial belt, regular campaigns by a joint committee having officials from various department was required. Since these kiosks re-appear after a few days regular monitoring and action was needed to rid the roads of these encroachments.

Tendency of the shopkeepers to allow kiosks to operate on a monthly rent was further adding to the problem.

Baddi police has granted seven days to the vendors to remove these encroachments following which legal action would be taken against them.

With work to four-lane the Baddi-Nalagarh national highway underway, the police had to divert industrial traffic through the arterial roads where impediments like unauthorised kiosks aggravated the traffic woes.