PMC appeals RTO, traffic police to join drive against illegal street vendors

PMC officials said RTO and traffic police should aid and strengthen their anti-encroachment drive by being vigilant in terms of checking vehicles and issuing licences

PUNE: Following the attack on an officer of the anti-encroachment department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which led to his hospitalisation on Tuesday, the department has vowed strict action against unauthorised street vendors and decided to take help from other departments as well as citizens for the purpose.

PMC officials said RTO and traffic police should aid and strengthen their anti-encroachment drive by being vigilant in terms of checking vehicles and issuing licences. (HT FILE)

Officials of the anti-encroachment department of the PMC said that the Regional Transport Office (RTO) as well as the traffic police department should aid and strengthen their anti-encroachment drive by being vigilant in terms of checking vehicles and issuing licences. The PMC officials said that the traffic police must get involved in getting illegal vehicles off the roads and preventing any sort of encroachment.

D R Langhe, regional anti-encroachment inspector from the PMC, said, “There are many factors which the PMC and the anti-encroachment department cannot handle on their own. The involvement of other departments is imperative for better functioning and quickly curbing this situation. As such, our officers are doing the best they can.”

Along with other departments, the PMC anti-encroachment department has also urged Punekars to actively call out any illegal encroachments around them. “The PMC is urging the people of Pune city to actively take action against anyone who causes inconvenience to them. If a person has parked their vehicle in the middle of the road or acts in a manner so as to cause a traffic problem, the people should take action against him/her. If a vendor or hawker is creating a ruckus, it should be pointed out to him/her immediately, and if the situation does not end there, a formal complaint should be lodged against such persons immediately,” Langhe said.

Figures provided by the encroachment/illegal construction removal department of the PMC for the last three months from January 2023 to March 2023