TOI Nagpur News :- With festival season come encroachments

With just a week left for Diwali celebrations, roadside shops have flooded busy streets in the commercial areas of the city to cash in on the festive fervour, obstructing flow of traffic. In fact, most of these shops have been set up by encroaching upon a significant portion of roads.


Surprisingly, the crippling traffic jams caused by encroachments are yet to attract the attention of the local administration and the police.


The worst-affected are Dharampeth, Dhantoli and Gandhibagh zones of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). Almost all the pavements and footpaths in Sitabuldi, Dharampeth, Sadar, Mahal and Itwari market areas have been occupied. Sitabuldi road, one of the busiest in the city, is also crammed with encroachers.


Over 50 shops selling earthen lamps have come up on the footpaths in various localities in Dharampeth zone. Even street vendors display goods on the encroached road, leaving little space for moving around. This poses a serious risk to pedestrians and motorists.


Apart from makeshift shops, there are handcarts and erratically parked vehicles that are adding to the woes of motorists and pedestrians. Citing an example, Vijay Nagre (name changed), a trader in Sitabuldi, said that a group of shopkeepers was engaged in heated arguments with traffic police on Monday for using jammer to a four-wheeler parked wrongly. It is a common sight during festive season, he said. Many permanent shops are also trying to exploit the situation. Some of them have extended their display area well on roads and pavements.


Lawyer Firdos Mirza said that the high court has taken cognisance of increase in encroachments on footpaths and roads. But NMC and city police have failed to ensure that the city is free from encroachments. In fact, it is their joint responsibility under Bombay Police Act and City of Nagpur Corporation Act," he said and added that the elected representatives should also join hands to clear encroachments.


"Rampant encroachment on roadsides is the primary reason for chaotic traffic. The encroachments cause a lot of inconvenience to citizens and restrict the persons concerned from providing facilities to the common people," said deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Jivraj Dabhade. NMC should make efforts to remove encroachments and ensure smooth flow of traffic," the DCP said.


A senior official from NMC's anti-encroachment squad claimed that they frequently conduct eviction drives. "But as soon as the squad goes away from the spot, the encroachers return," he said. Besides, every zone has been allotted a team of around 10 persons to remove encroachments, he said and added that it is the responsibility of each zone's assistant commissioner to assure their areas are free from encroachments.