Indian Express 15.11.2010
EncroacheRs thrive in markets
Express News Service Tags : Municipal Corporation, Shastri Market Posted: Mon Nov 15 2010, 00:20 hrs
Chandigarh: Despite claims of the Municipal Corporation about conducting regular anti-encroachment drives, encroaches continue to thrive in the city markets. Especially over the weekend the activity of the encroaches increases manifold.A visit to the Sector 22 market shows that the illegal vendors still flourished. A variety of items from clothes to accessories are available on the pavements. As shoppers throng the market, there is barely any space left in the corridors to walk. A similar situation prevails in the Shastri Market where the shopkeepers have encroached upon the corridors leaving almost no space to walk.
Haphazard parking adds to the chaos. Vehicles are parked in a disorganised manner causing jams in the parking lots. Some of the vendors also sell their goods from cars. The cars act as their display windows. Instead of selling goods from the pavements, the vendors have made certain innovations. In case of checks by enforcement staff it becomes easier to pack up the material.
The markets in Sector 15 and 19 are also streaming with vendors. Clothes hanging all along the walls, electricity wiring hanging loose and illegal electricity connections are some of the other anomalies present in these markets. The number of people visiting these places increases on weekends. With barely any space to park vehicles, these are parked along roads creating traffic bottlenecks. The smooth flow of traffic is hindered.
While illegal vendors do pose a problem the shopkeepers of the area also display their goods in the corridors. Due to the chaotic conditions there is barely any space left for emergency services to reach these markets in case of a tragedy. Municipal Corporation officials claim to have issued hundreds of challans in these markets. It seems to have made little impact on the encroaches.
