Empathising with the pedestrians who are being forced to walk right on the busy roads with dearth of footpaths having turned into a negative label for Dehradun, the Mayor, Dehradun, Vinod Chamoli said things are indeed grim. “The situation, of course, is anathema for them,” he said.
However, he hastened to add that they have taken measures to free the footpaths from the grip of the encroachers by conducting anti- encroachment drives from time to time across the city. “It is being observed that some shopkeepers are allowing hawkers to pitch makeshift stalls on the footpath in lieu of Rs 500 per day from each of such encroaching hawkers,” he said.
Chamoli appealed to such shopkeepers to desist from such malpractice that is driving the hapless pedestrians to the jaws of deaths. Dehradun Mayor Chamoli acknowledged the fact that the anti-encroachment drives being launched by the corporation from time to time is not leaving much of visible impact on the ground.
“It is sad but true things are not being curbed as they should be. Aside from the hawkers, several house-owners are encroaching footpaths. The vehicle-users are doing the same by way of parking cars on the footpaths in defiance of laws. Anti-encroachment drives will be intensified. We are determined to see the end of the menace,” he averred.
Public Works Department, police, administration and municipal corporation officials should work hand in hand in setting things right so as to enable the pedestrians to walk, sans fear of being run over, the Mayor said.
A municipal corporation official echoed the view of the mayor, saying that the drives are falling flat as far as the main issue is concerned. “To change things permanently, the departments concerned should work in concert and clamp down heavily on the errant people. Fear must be sufficiently struck in them by deterrent punitive actions,” he said.
The college students are bearing the brunt of things. Rahul Singh, a college student, said that there is nothing like footpath along DBS (PG) College Road. large chunks of the footpaths are being encroached by the vehicle-users to have their vehicles. Add to this the local shopkeepers encroaching roads, the picture of our plight is complete,” he said.