Finally swinging into action after neighbouring Chandigarh began resettling its vendors, the municipal corporation’s (MC) enforcement team on Monday held a drive in the Phases 7 and 5 markets and confiscated goods belonging to 40 vendors.
They were operating without permissions in the parking area and market corridors. The drive began at 12.30pm and continued till 6pm.
MC commissioner Kamal Kumar said such drives will be held regularly in the morning as well as evenings. “We have warned them (vendors) several times, but they are adamant. They will be challaned on the basis of the articles (they sell). For one rehri (cart) we charge ₹1,000 as fine,” he said.
CITY DIVIDED INTO 3 ZONES
The city was divided into three zones according to orders issued by the then MC commissioner Bhupinder Pal Singh on September 23. However, though he had said that officers heading teams will be responsible for encroachments in their respective areas, no effective drive has been conducted in the past two months. As a result, the vendors had set up stalls even on the main roads in the festive season in October and November.
Councillors fuming over the mess say the situation has gone from bad to worse in city. A round of the markets, especially Phases 7, 3-B1, 3-B2, 9, 10, and 11, showed vendors in parking lots and on the main road. Shop owners too had encroached upon corridors, leaving no space for visitors.
{{/usCountry}}Councillors fuming over the mess say the situation has gone from bad to worse in city. A round of the markets, especially Phases 7, 3-B1, 3-B2, 9, 10, and 11, showed vendors in parking lots and on the main road. Shop owners too had encroached upon corridors, leaving no space for visitors.
{{/usCountry}}Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillor Kuldeep Kaur Kang said the entire city was in a mess because of the encroachments. “There are huge jams on the roads during festivals with the MC acting as a mute spectator as no drive has been conducted in the past two weeks. Encroachers are operating fearlessly even on the main roads.”
There are about 993 vendors in the city registered under the Street Vendors Act, but those operating without permissions number about 2,000. They sell a variety of products, including apparel, footwear, jewellery and eatables in the market corridors and parking areas.
MC’s enforcement wing is most of the time unable to keep a strict vigil on the vendors as it has only two vehicles, a truck and a Bolero to cater to the entire city.
DRIVE IN ZIRAKPUR TOO
During the day, the municipal council of Zirakpur also launched a crackdown on street vendors and the shopkeepers who have encroached roads in the main market. The council officials said they seized goods of the vendors that were lying on roads and footpaths. The anti-encroachment drive was conducted on the stretch from Metro Chowk to VIP Road.“We will continue with such crackdown till they (vendors) move from here,” an MC official said.