Ludhiana | Civic body, locals spar over encroachment

The anti-encroachment drive from Vishwakarma Chowk to Dholewal Military Complex, Ludhiana carried out by the municipal corporation’s Tehbazari wing and the traffic police irked residents, who accused police of towing vehicles parked well inside the permissible white line.

The anti-encroachment drive carried out by the Municipal Corporation’s Tehbazari wing and the traffic police, from Vishwakarma Chowk to Dholewal Military Complex, led to heated arguments between residents and authorities.

The matter later snowballed into a political issue after the Shiromani Akali Dal and other political parties accused the police and the Ludhiana civic body of harassing the public. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The residents alleged that the police began towing vehicles which were parked well inside the permissible white line.

The Tehbazari department, however, refuted the allegations, saying that the 22 two-wheelers and seven cars towed during the drive were all parked in the wrong spots. The shopkeepers, meanwhile, were asked to park their vehicles in the right spots.

Notably, the Tehbazari wing of the civic body and the traffic police have jointy been conducting anti-encroachment drives in the city for the past five days, during which they have faced strong opposition from the local shopkeepers.

The matter later snowballed into a political issue after the Shiromani Akali Dal and other political parties accused the police and civic body of harassing the public.

“Police officials remain silent as they receive cuts. Similarly civic body staff first take cuts from poor rehri-phari vendors and then harass them again on the name of anti- encroachment drive and sadly all this is being encouraged by the present Congress regime,” Grewal added.