Bhubaneswar: Around 100km of road stretches in the city have been freed of encroachments through regular enforcement drives carried out by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in collaboration with other agencies since Jan, officials said.
BMC officials said encroachments were mostly on footpaths, unauthorised vendors on roads and drains, makeshift shops and push trolleys in busy areas obstructing traffic. The drive began ahead of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held from Jan 8 to 10. Around 20 locations were covered where 87 shops were demolished in Aug, while 49 have been razed in Sept so far.
“Illegal shops that came up between Kalpana Square and PMG Square were removed. All of them were street vendors. From Ekamra Square to CRP Square also, there were shops, which came up on roads and drains. They all were razed. From CRP to Power House Square, tea and paan shops were set up on the road and they had to be demolished. There were many bamboo fruit stalls, which were pulled down,” said BMC deputy commissioner (revenue), Ajay Mohanty.
The civic body also carried out enforcement along the stretch from Sataraharia Basti to Pandra and Dhirukuti and from KIIT Square to KIMS Hospital and from there to Nandankanan zoo. This part of the city falls under the administrative control of BMC’s north zone. Enforcement squads also inspected 11 places and removed encroachments from Niladri Vihar, Buddha Park, Kargil Basti, Panabarang Fishery Lane, Laxmisagar, Badagada Canal Road, Ghatikia, Kapila Prasad-Jatni stretch, Prachi Vihar, Chirgolatola and near the CDA office.
“We surveyed several areas and found shops and stalls on footpaths. Some shops even illegally extended their sheds beyond the permissible area. Some tea stalls were located on drains. Our enforcement activities will continue as many re-establish their shops months after they are razed,” Mohanty added.
BMC officials said some ‘daily needs’ shops, which were not there until a year ago, had come up, flouting norms. Due to encroachments, it is difficult to construct new roads as months pass in removing encroachments, they said. For the construction of a new road in Nayapalli’s Behera Sahi, it took more than a year to remove encroachments. Unauthorised shops also lead to traffic congestion. “We have appealed to the people to let us know if there are any unauthorised constructions in places close to their homes,” said a BMC officer.
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