The authorities have totally failed to clamp down on the illegal Sunday market which has not expanded from the periphery of the Parade Ground to the already busy Subhash Road.
This is causing increased traffic congestion on this road apart from which most of the new space created on lansdowne Chowk following its expansion has been taken up by traders setting stalls or using carts in the Sunday Market. The Sunday market first used to be set in Paltan Bazaar from where it was shifted by the authorities to the periphery of Parade Ground near the Tibetan Market.
The shift was made to resolve traffic congestion at Clock Tower. However, ever since the Sunday market was shifted to the boundary of Parade Ground, traffic congestion has become a routine feature of lansdowne Chowk on Sundays. The authorities occasionally conducted drives to remove unauthorised traders from setting stalls here but these efforts have not yielded the desired results.
Traders continue to set stalls outside the area designated for the Sunday market due to which the area suffering from traffic congestion has also been expanding consistently. The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun and the district administration have not been able to curtail the spread of this market even though this is causing severe public inconvenience.
Earlier, the stalls in the market used to be set along the border of Parade Ground opposite the Tibetan Market but now the market area has expanded with stalls being set along the ground’s boundary opposite the CJM church, lansdowne Chowk and Subhash Road. The space created by expansion of the lansdowne Chowk is now mostly occupied by unauthorised stalls on Sundays. Considering the present trend of protests by anyone or any group which considers itself to be on the receiving end of Government actions, the authorities appear to be reluctant to take concrete action to regulate the Sunday market.
Official sources state that political interference, official apathy and lack of inter-departmental coordination are preventing effective action from being taken on this issue.
