The 15-day special drive against encroachments in Kalyan-Dombivli has failed to decongest the footpaths. The minute the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) turns its back, the encroachers are back on the footpaths.
The KDMC razed several sheds, extensions, handcarts, baskets and other encroachments on different roads in the city in this drive that began on November 1.
The drive is being carried out on different roads every other day. However, it has failed to bring a major change in the scenario.
Manish Chaudhari, 28, a resident of Tilak Chowk, Kalyan (W), said, “The hawkers clear the footpath when they see the team arriving. However, once they KDMC staff have gone, all the hawkers are back. Even the shopkeepers keep their items outside on the footpaths just to attract the customers to their shops. Not even a single footpath is free to walk in the city.”
The hawkers alleged that the civic body did not raze the encroachments by shopkeepers and only focused on the hawkers. The hawkers and vendors claimed that the shopkeepers were allowed to remove the encroachments by themselves during the drive while the hawkers’ goods were forcefully seized.
“The shopkeepers who had their sheds and other items placed on the footpaths were asked to remove it on the spot while our baskets of fruits and vegetables were picked up by the civic workers. This eviction was only targeted to trouble hawkers while the shopkeepers enjoyed all the liberty,” said Suhas Gupta, 38, who sells fruit at the Kalyan Station Road.
{{/usCountry}}“The shopkeepers who had their sheds and other items placed on the footpaths were asked to remove it on the spot while our baskets of fruits and vegetables were picked up by the civic workers. This eviction was only targeted to trouble hawkers while the shopkeepers enjoyed all the liberty,” said Suhas Gupta, 38, who sells fruit at the Kalyan Station Road.
{{/usCountry}}Till the fifth day of the drive, KDMC has removed more than 100 sheds, carts, baskets , extensions from the footpaths across Kalyan-Dombivli.
“The vendors and hawkers are obstructing the drive. They get violent at times and consume a lot of time. We try to take away the encroached items so that they don’t come back to the footpaths. Even if we have cleared a particular road, our employees keep visiting the road to ensure the footpaths are clear,” said a ward officer of KDMC who did not wish to be named.