The line which was drawn to demarcate the vending zone from the road to decongest the Main Road is being followed more in violation. Though the traffic officials had removed the stalls placed ahead of the line but the vendors have returned with makeshift shops.
No wonder, the Main Road often witnesses long queue of vehicles during peak hours as the area is dotted with several temporary shops. “Main Road, one of the busiest roads in the town, is often crammed with encroachers,” said Sujit Kumar who was annoyed with the city traffic congestion.
The street vendors whose business steps out of the demarcated lines have made the life of the common people miserable. The vendors place their goods on the encroached roads leaving little space for walking. Then make-shift shops, rickshaws and haphazardly parked vehicles also add woes to the motorists and pedestrians.
A motorist said, “The traffic in this area always remains messy due to rampant encroachments. The concerned officials should take concrete step collectively for removing the problem completely.”
However, the street vendors said that law has only forced them to violate it. Ramu Singh, who places a stall of child wears near Vishal Mega Mart Main Road, said, “According to the Supreme Court guideline, the administration has to provide a market complex for the vendors. It has been more than a year and till date no specified space has been provided to us.”
They hail from economically weak background, so, they place their stalls wherever they get space. The traffic officials are also distressed with the rampant encroachment. Traffic DSP AK Mishra said, “We regularly remove the encroachers but they turned a deaf ear to our warning. We are going to place the issue in the next meeting and will urge the administration to take concrete action in this regard.”