The Pioneer               11.06.2013

Encroachments removed from Rajpur Road

After clearing the Paltan Bazaar and Gandhi Road of roadside encroachments by shopkeepers during the past week, the district administration, MCD and police resumed the anti-encroachment drive on Rajpur Road from the Clock Tower on Monday.

As is the case with most roads across the town, the footpath on Rajpur Road was also found to be encroached upon by shopkeepers. When the team reached a cycle shop near the Clock Tower, it found cycles and other related items placed on the footpath and roadside by the shopkeeper.

When asked to vacate the place, the trader claimed that he had the registry for the land in question but was not able to produce the necessary document. He was told by the officials to present the registry documents on the next day failing which he would be penalised. Similarly, shopkeepers along the Rajpur Road had placed various items on the footpath and roadside, leaving no place for pedestrians and causing impediments to traffic.

The officials faced some opposition from the traders but this did not stop them from conducting the drive. The team seized wares displayed on the footpath and roadside from dozens of shops and penalised others. The anti-encroachment drive on Monday was conducted from Clock Tower to Dilaram Bazaar. The locals have welcomed this drive by the authorities but have also expressed apprehension about whether this drive will continue and whether the footpaths and roadsides freed of encroachments will be kept so in the future.

The Pioneer               11.06.2013

IMC removes eight shops for constructing depot for i-buses

The IDA administration and the affected shopkeepers had been in continuous talks over the demolition of eight shops located opposite a petrol pump at Niranjanpur square for the past one week. Protesting the move, some shopkeepers had also met the district collector and accordingly they were given a time period of one week to remove their belongings from the shops to facilitate demolition of their shops.

However, even after the lapse of a week, the shopkeepers had taken no initiative to remove goods from their shops on their own and demolish their shops.

Subsequently, a demolition gang of the IMC led by the IMC deputy commissioner Mahendra Singh Chouhan, nayab tehsildar  Ajit Shrivastav and other senior officials from the IDA reached the demolition site at Niranjanpur square at 10 am on Monday.

Before starting the demolition works, the shopkeepers were given time to remove belongings from their shops. Though affected shopkeepers requested the officials to given them some more time to remove their goods from the shop, the officials refused them to give more time and started demolishing shops at around 10.30 am. The shops which were demolished included Arora Road Lines, Pankaj Motor Parts, Anand Auto Garage and Jammu and Kashmir dhaba respectively.

On account of demolition works, traffic movement on the BRTS from Niranjanpur square to Vijay Nagar square remained disrupted for some hours, causing traffic bottleneck in the locality.