Ludhiana: Traders protest removal of tiles, reduction of road width in Vikas Nagar

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 31

Shopkeepers of Vikas Nagar (behind Suvidha Kendra) on Pakhowal Road staged a protest under the banner of the Vikas Nagar Shopkeepers Association against the ‘whimsical’ action of the Municipal Corporation of removal of interlocking tiles from a portion of the road in front of the local market on Sunday.

They alleged that due to this move, not only the width of the road had been curtailed to less than half but also the portion from where tiles had been removed had become prone to waterlogging and also turned a garbage disposal site.

Leading the protest, Kuldeep Chopra and Deepak Sabharwal, office-bearers of the association, said the MC had curtailed the width of the 35-feet wide road to about 17 feet by ordering removal of interlocking tiles on a stretch of the road in Vikas Nagar on Sua Road (rear of Suvidha Kendra).

“As a result, the stretch from where interlocking tiles had been removed has become a source of trouble,” they said.

In a complaint submitted to the MC Commissioner and the Mayor, the affected shopkeepers said water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases had already spread in several parts of the city and the ‘kacha’ portion of road (from where tiles had been removed) being prone to waterlogging, was posing a threat of outbreak of such diseases. To make the matters worse, residents of the area and even some shopkeepers had started throwing garbage and waste on that part of the road, they said.

The association has made an earnest appeal to the civic body to take action for laying the rain water drainage system (pipes) and reinstallation of the interlocking tiles of the stretch of the Vikas Nagar market soon to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic, check water stagnation and save the area residents from threat of water-borne and vector-borne diseases.

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