Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started taking strict action against encroachers. On Thursday, the anti-encroachment squad razed over 200 illegal shops in many localities, including Khamla main road, Sawarkar Nagar and Jaitala.
The squad also carried out mop-up rounds on Orange City Street by taking action against illegal mutton and chicken vendors.
Here, the shopkeepers had brazenly occupied not only the footpaths but also encroached upon major portion of wide roads. It has been highlighted on many occasions that anti-encroachment drives had zero impact.
Thursday’s drive was carried out under the guidance of Laxmi Nagar zone’s assistant municipal commissioner Suvarna Dakhane and assistant municipal commissioner (anti-encroachment) Ashok Patil.
Armed with four excavators and four trucks along with police protection, NMC started the drive with around 200 employees at 11.30pm. First, they razed illegal constructions of shopkeepers on Khamla road. Here, almost all the shopkeepers not only kept their material on pavements but also extended their shops on other side of the 24-meter road.
The squad faced resistance from the shopkeepers, led by former corporator Prakash Totwani. They were opposing the action on marginal space, which was refused by the squad, said enforcement inspector Sanjay Kamble.
Totwani later told that a delegation of shopkeepers will meet mayor Nanda Jichkar to protest the drive. He pointed out that NMC’s enforcement squad has no right to take action against encroachments in marginal spaces.
The squad moved towards Shaniwar Bazaar road and seized around 50 handcarts by taking action against vegetable vendors.
Action was also initiated against chicken and mutton shops that have cropped up on NMC’s Orange Street land. The vendors were seen opposing the drive stating that NMC failed to reserve or provide a single space for them.
The squad then moved towards Jaitala and evicted the road from illegal vegetable and chicken-mutton vendors.
Kamble said the drive will continue in the zone on November 3 and 4.
