In order to make Jamshedpur a better place to live and commute, traffic police in league with the administration started an anti-encroachment drive on large scale. After clearing Sakchi, the busiest commercial hub of the city, East Singhbhum district administration on Thursday started a crack down on encroachers in Bistupur.
The drive led by Dhalbhum SDO Alok Kumar and supported by DSP traffic Vivekanand Thakur and DSP crime control, Jacinta Kerketta along with Jamshedpur circle officer Manoj Kumar began at around 11 am and continued till evening.
During the drive, extensions in over 20 shops, on roads and pavements were dismantled by the district administration. Armed with two JCBs (excavators) and a hydra (a hydraulic operated excavator) in the presence of 60 odd police force and riot control vehicle, the team bulldozed several constructions.
Moreover, around 15 makeshift kiosks which had been set up on vacant spaces between permanent shops were also demolished during the drive.
SDO claimed that the drive would definitely bring a respite to commuters as no one would be allowed to encroach upon the road and stern action would be taken against violators. “The problem of traffic jams is very serious in the city that is why we are going to start this drive from here,” he noted
The SDO said that like Sakchi, they would clear encroachments, take photographs of cleared space and hand it over to the local police stations (Bistupur police in this case) and local civic body (Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee).
“We want to make sure that the encroachers do not set up their makeshift kiosks and establishment once the drive is over. After the drive is over it would be the onus of the police and JNAC to ensure that roads, pavements and drains remain encroachment free,” added Alok Kumar.
He informed that similar drives would be carried out in other commercial areas
like Sonari, Kadma, Jugsalai, Golmuri, Burmamines
and Mango.
Traders outfit remained silent on the issue and unlike Sakchi preferred to stay away from the place where the drive was conducted on the first day.
Experts feel that the city has not expanded horizontally, as a result of which a major chunk of the population continues to remain concentrated in a 5-km radius. lakhs of vehicles, lakhs of people, a few hundred flats and a few dozen shops and malls have mushroomed here. While old settlers find it difficult to adjust to the new situation.
After the failure of the local bodies in removing encroachments, the district police authorities have come forward to get the encroachments cleared for easing out congestion.
“Most of the traffic jams are due to laxity of authorities. The problem can be solved if the administration takes the issue of encroachments seriously. But we all know why and how these encroachments come up,” said a resident of Bistupur.