Following orders from Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi traffic police began removing street-side vendors and wrongly parked vehicles along the three kilometre long stretch between Radium Chowk and Daily Market.
led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Dilip Xalxo, a team of traffic policemen and Anti Encroachment Squad of Ranchi Municipal Corporation confiscated goods put up by hawkers on Main Road on Monday morning.
Shopkeepers using footpaths to showcase their merchandise without authorisation also had to face music as their goods were also seized by the forces clearing encroachment. Several vehicles parked along the stretch were also fined for illegal parking and towed away by traffic police.
“The number of vendors was not what it used to be on other days. There were some who were sitting on road side with bags of goods. Unauthorised extensions of shops were also cleared, and these two combined resulted in a truck-load of seized goods,” informed Xalxo.
He further added, “We have towed two-wheelers after imposing fine on them taking up two tractors. Kolkata Bazaar was also fined Rs 5,000 for using the street in front of the establishment without authorisation.”
On April 9, a bench of Chief Justice Virender Singh and Justice S Chandrashekhar of Jharkhand High Court had instructed Ranchi traffic police to clear State capital’s main artery from bottlenecks to traffic by street vendors and improperly parked vehicles without further delay.
The grace period extended to the hawkers by bench and enforced through a notice issued by the office of Senior Superintendent of Police, urging them to either vacate Main Road by April 15 or have their merchandise seized, also proved effective as many hawkers did not set up shop.till the seized merchandise almost filled the cart of the Anti encroachment Squad truck used in the drive.
A clear Main Road was taken as a boon by commuters as they were spared from suffering traffic logjams in sweltering 410C. Meanwhile, organisations representing street vendors of Ranchi have sought out the legal way to stay the High Court’s decision. The petition collectively filed by them to stay the High Court’s decision will be heard on Tuesday or Wednesday at the Supreme Court of India.
“We are waiting for Supreme Court’s say on the matter and our strategy for further movement will be based on it. We are positive it will be in our favour as our pleas are in accordance to the legislations and previous Supreme Court verdict pertaining to street vendors. Without proper rehabilitation, no vendor will vacate MG Marg,” stated Anita Das, General Secretary, Ranchi Footpath Dukaandar-Hawkers’ Association.