Indain Express 19.04.2010
Encroachments gobble up walking space in markets while authorities turn a blind eye
Express News Service Tags : encroachment Posted: Monday , Apr 19, 2010 at 2345 hrs
Panchkula: As the Haryana Urban Development Authority turns a blind eye, encroachments mar markets in the township.
With hardly any anti-encroachment drives in sight in near future, it is a free-for-all for shopkeepers.
Markets, including those in Sector 6,7,8,9,10, 11, are choc-a-bloc with products spread all over the alleys, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk. The situation becomes worse during evenings. “There is no space to walk around when one comes shopping, especially in the inner markets. Authorities should check encroachments, as they pose a lot of difficulty to us,” said Garima Kohli, a resident of Sector 9.
If cloth merchants have put tables outside their shops to display their merchandise, others have set up watches and mobile repair “shops” rigth in the middle of allies.
Meanwhile, shopkeepers express helplessness, as they claim shops and booths allotted to them are too small to contain their merchandise. “We have requested the authorities to let us construct an additional floor on our shops, so that we can stock our products. There is an arrangement that allowss us to construct the basement. But it is not feasible now, as our shops have already been constructed,” rued a grocery shop owner in Sector 9.
Officials at HUDA said they were aware of the encroachments and steps were being taken to check the same. “We will increase the frequency of conducting surprise checks in all markets to check the problem,” he said.
