The city is grappling with water-logging. Rampant encroachments are going on in connivance with the authorities that are mandated to stop them, said the aggrieved residents. “Such encroachments have not just robbed the city of its serene ambience but they are spawning accidents and water-logging. If things continue this way it would adversely affect tourist flow, resulting in loss of revenue for the state exchequer,” said Sohan lal, a resident of the city.
Suryakant, a sage based in Agra, said the streets are being reduced to alleys thanks to unimpeded roadside encroachment. “Things have come to such a pass that one can reach Har ki Paudi from Shiv Murti on foot faster than either on two -wheelers or four –wheelers. The problem has been compounded with the rickshaw- pullers and those running battery-driven auto- rickshaws having pitched their stands on the sides of the roads-the space meant for the pedestrians,” he added.
Significantly, the office of the inspector, Kotwali City and reporting police Chowki of Har ki Paudi are located along the above-mentioned stretch. Prabhat Sharma, a trader based at Kankhal, said encroachments along the water channels of the city is a major cause of water- logging. “When it rains heavily we face flood like situations for days,” he said.
The busy markets around Upper Road, Moti Bazaar and Har ki Paudi in Haridwar, Kankhal Chowk and Kathera Bazaar and Peeth Bazaar in Jwalapur are literally choking with encroachments. The shopkeepers are extendeding shops right on the roads with impunity. It is not even sparing the ghats of the Ganga. This is going on in complete violation of the government rules and the court verdicts, the refrain goes. Residential and commercial complexes are coming up just 200 meter from the bank of Ganga with the district administration and other departments concerned looking the other way. Consequently, the bathing space is shrinking.
With the holy city presently seeing substantial tourist footfalls, traffic snarls dragging for hours are proving a damper for them. long queues of vehicles stranded bumper to bumper on Najibabad – Haridwar – Delhi Highway is now a common sight.
“It takes over two hours to travel three / four kilometers. One can well understand how we suffer under hot and humid condition,” said one who drives along this road daily.