Clear all footpaths of encroachers in 7 days: KDMC chief to officials

After clearing skywalks and roads near railway stations from hawkers, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi has now directed

After clearing skywalks and roads near railway stations from hawkers, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi has now directed civic officials to ensure encroachment-free footpaths in seven days.

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In a bid to make the footpaths free for pedestrians, Suryavanshi has asked concerned officials to serve notices to shopkeepers across the city asking them to remove the encroachments. The officials have been directed to forcefully remove the encroachments if the shopkeepers do not adhere to the notices and recover the expenses for the demolition from them.

In Kalyan and Dombivli, most footpaths are encroached with shops. This forces pedestrians to walk on the road, which in turn leads to traffic congestion.

“The civic body chief, who found most of the footpaths encroached, asked officials to make the footpaths free for pedestrians. The officials will give seven days’ time to the shopkeepers to remove their shops,” said Madhavi Pophale, public relations officer, KDMC.

Earlier on Wednesday, the civic body chief visited skywalks which were congested due to hawkers menace. On Thursday, three officials were suspended for failing to keep the station area free of hawkers.