The municipal corporation is planning to start an extensive anti-encroachment drive in the city to bring relief from the traffic jams.
However, the project to establish vending zones in the city has been hanging fire for over six years. Even after a year since the proposal for establishment of over 150 vending and non-vending zones in the city was forwarded to the local bodies department, authorities are still waiting for the final notification.
Vendors have been at loggerheads with the MC over the issue. An agitation was also raised when the civic body had conducted an anti-encroachment drive before the pandemic.
The vendors are opposing the MC’s decision to start an anti-encroachment drive without establishing the vending zones.
Last week, mayor Balkar Sandhu had said that the MC will soon restart the anti-encroachment drive in the city to free the city roads from traffic jams.
The police department will also be involved in the drive and strict legal action will also be taken against encroachers.
Harman Singh, a roadside vendors at Model Town Extension, said: “As per a ruling of the Supreme Court, the MC cannot conduct anti-encroachments drives without establishing vending zones. But, the civic body is still planning to take action against roadside vendors even during the pandemic, when everyone is struggling financially. ”
President of Rehri Phari Federation, Tiger Singh, said, “Numerous meetings have been held for establishing vending zones, but the MC has done nothing so far. The vendors are forced to pay hefty composition fees to MC to install/station their carts on roadsides. The vendors also face harassment at the hands of some MC staffers. We demand that the MC should establish the vending zones before starting anti-encroachments drives in the city.”
{{/usCountry}}President of Rehri Phari Federation, Tiger Singh, said, “Numerous meetings have been held for establishing vending zones, but the MC has done nothing so far. The vendors are forced to pay hefty composition fees to MC to install/station their carts on roadsides. The vendors also face harassment at the hands of some MC staffers. We demand that the MC should establish the vending zones before starting anti-encroachments drives in the city.”
{{/usCountry}}As many as 21,000 street vendors were identified in the city during a survey that was conducted by MC around three years back.
Mayor Balkar Sandhu said, “MC had not taken any strict action against roadside encroachments till Diwali as we understand that everyone is facing financial crises amid the pandemic. But, the traffic jams on city roads due to the encroachments are taking a toll on the commuters. MC is working to establish vending zones. In the meantime, vendors can set-up their stalls at over 100 proposed vending zone sites which have already been identified. Strict action will be taken against the shopkeepers and vendors for encroaching on roadsides and FIRs will also be registered.”
In the last week of February, police had announced the third phase of the anti-encroachment drive under which 60 roads of the city were to be covered.
In the first two phases, 40 roads had been covered and FIRs were lodged against around 100 shopkeepers and vendors.
The drives came to a halt amid the pandemic.