Indian Express 22.12.2009
Encroachments removed amid protest, dharnas
The Municipal Corporation today re-started its anti-encroachment drive and demolished more than 225 structures amid mild protests and dharnas. The drive started from the congested Lakkar Bazaar where the ramps were demolished.
The team then moved to Field Ganj area, where the alleged “pick and choose” policy of team irked the shopkeepers and hence started complaining against each other. While the complaints were going on, a few shopkeepers even started fighting with each other and they threw soda bottles on each other. However later on, when drive continued they became quiet.
The shopkeepers meanwhile had shut their shops and they opened only when the team went away. A few even showed some papers justifying the encroachment. However although most of the encroachments in this market were demolished, but a shoe stand of a gurdwara in the market was not touched.
In the scooter market at Gill Road, the shopkeepers staged a dharna when the encroachment done by them was being removed. The market association is using MC road for displaying the second-hand scooters and hence are encroaching a big part of the road.
The senior deputy mayor, Parveen Bansal, along with newly-appointed Ludhiana Improvement Trust trustees Gurinderpal Pappu and Naresh Dhingan also came to the spot. They took the memorandum from the shopkeepers and told them that a meeting would be arranged with the MC Commissioner regarding a space for scooter market.
