Continuing its drive against encroachment, the Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Monday launched a massive anti-encroachment drive in Shastri market locality of the city.
The civic body pressed a JCB machine to bulldoze about a dozen tin-sheds erected beyond the permissible limits by the local traders. Following several complaints of the vegetable and fruit sellers encroaching upon the road, RMC squad removed the encroachments.
The squad also seized at least half-a-dozen handcarts, 25 iron nets along with buckets of vegetables, fruits, flowers and other materials displayed on the road for sale by the roadside vendors.
A joint team of RMC Central Zone-4 and the traffic police launched the drive. The squad faced stiff resistance by the roadside vendors, who were protesting against the drive, and it also halted the action for sometime but the officials concerned seemed not to spare any encroachment.
The agitated vendors sat and demonstrated on the road to protest the action. Meanwhile, the squad freed the area from encroachment. The drive lasted for around two hours.
The officials concerned found that piles of garbage including rotten vegetables and fruits lying on the road which were emanating foul smell. Following this, the officials concerned warned the vendors not to throw garbage on the road but to dispose it at the designated places marked for it.