Who will clear Ludhiana roads? Festive rush adds to chaos as MC drives against encroachments make little impact
Diwali is only a few days away and encroachments and long queues of vehicles have become a regular feature these days. The festive season is the time when city’s markets and bazaars are jam-packed and traffic moves at a snail’s pace as shopkeepers put up their stalls outside their shops, encroaching major portion of roads. The question that remains unanswered is who will clear Ludhiana roads? Will roads be cleared of encroachments so that people have a pleasant shopping experience or they will have to continue jostling with each other while reaching out to different places for making their purchases.
Is it the Municipal Corporation that fails to act or the alleged political influence that deters officials to take any action or is it traders who fail to understand their moral responsibility to remain within limits of their establishments and not encroach upon roads?
City’s markets at Chaura Bazaar, Civil Lines, Model Town, BRS Nagar, Daresi Ground, Barewal Road, Haibowal, Jawahar Nagar, Ghumar Mandi, Field Gunj, Karimpura, Brown Road and others are facing a chock-o-block situation these days as vendors selling various items have displayed their stuff by the roadside. Shopkeepers at Jawahar Nagar Camp have moved a step further and installed tents along the roadside for selling their stuff.
The tehbazari wing of the MC carries out regular anti-encroachment drives but these fail to serve the purpose as the sellers return to such spots after a few days.
Manjeet Kaur, a resident who stays in the College Road area, said it was a tough task to pass through city roads and as Diwali was approaching near, it would become all the more difficult.
“Besides shopkeepers, who have displayed their items along roads, many makeshift vends selling various items such as diyas, candles and sweets have also emerged in bazaars. People have been facing inconvenience due to the same,” she said.
Gurmeet Kaur, a buyer at Ghumar Mandi, was having a difficult time while parking her car due to encroachments. “There is hardly any parking space and shoppers are left to park their vehicles by the roadside but with encroachments on roads, even that space is occupied. To make the situation worse for people, the traffic police personnel on duty are towing away vehicles parked on roads. In such case, where do commuters park their vehicles? Why shops are given permission to operate when they have no parking facility and public is made to suffer,” she said.
Deepak Sethi, whose office is located on Brown Road, said usually it takes 40 minutes to reach his office from home but these days due to the festive season it takes one hour to reach his workplace. “It is difficult to even drive on roads as a major portion of roads is encroached upon by shopkeepers and vendors,” he said.
Jasdev Singh Sekhon, Assistant Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said the civic body was already carrying out anti-encroachment drives and also creating awareness among shopkeepers to not to encroach upon roads. It was also the duty of the sellers to keep in consideration comfort of the people so that they could reach their shops easily for making purchases.
MLA Gurpreet Gogi said Diwali was one of the the biggest festivals of north India and many people earn money by making and selling small items such as diyas and other earthen articles during the festive season.
“To help such small shopkeepers survive, they are allowed to put up roadside stalls but they should also not encroach upon the entire road. Keeping in view the rush in city bazaars, the people should avoid going in four-wheelers. Instead, they should use public transport. After Diwali, nobody will be spared and strict action will be taken against encroachments,” he said.
Chock-a-block at markets
City’s markets at Chaura Bazaar, Civil Lines, Model Town, BRS Nagar, Daresi Ground, Barewal Road, Haibowal, Jawahar Nagar, Ghumar Mandi, Field Gunj, Karimpura, Brown Road and other spots were chock-a-block these days due to the festive season as vendors selling various items have displayed their stuff by the roadside.
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