Businessmen, who had allegedly encroached footpaths outside their shops on Dilaram Bazaar, shut their shops in protest, on Friday, when City Patrol Unit (CPU) personnel asked them to vacate the encroached space.
Footpaths being encroached upon on various roads in the city leaves the pedestrians inconvenienced. However, haphazard parking of vehicles continues in the busy market areas of the city as the administration has failed to provide parking spaces to the traders or local residents whose houses are situated right in these areas.
Traders doing business on Dilaram Chowk were enraged when they saw CPU personnel imposing challan on them for having parked their vehicles on the areas marked as no- parking zone outside their shops.
They burst out in anger, saying that CPU had imposed fines despite their vehicles being parked inside the white line. They said such police action would adversely impact their business. They assembled and argued with the CPU personnel. Seeing CPU personnel sticking to their guns, they shuttered their shops in protest.
In pro-active mode, CPU personnel were seen on EC roads and some other places in the city, directing the locals not to park their vehicles in no- parking zone areas. They warned that they would be forced to impose challans in case they defy the rules. Sumit Semwal, resident of Rajpur, defended CPU. “They deserve praise for what they have done. local traders encroaching footpaths are making our lives miserable,” he said.
People say that the district administration should provide parking space for the traders nearer their shops. Observers opine that such anger over CPU trying to free encroached footpaths is natural. “Things would take some time to settle down,” one of them said.
Recently local residents and CPU were embroiled in a tiff on EC Road after the latter slapped fines for violation of parking norms. It should also be mentioned here that most efforts by the authorities to remove major encroachments by traders in different areas of Dehradun were either strongly opposed or failed to have desired effect.
Politicians of various parties are also members of the business fraternity in town and prevent any major action from being taken against blatant violations by traders.
Even in cases where encroachments were removed by the authorities, the same reappeared a couple of days or even hours after being removed.