Squatters back on Mall road hours after being evicted

MUSSOORIE: In an early morning eviction drive on a 3-km-stretch of Mussoorie’s Mall Road, the district administration on Saturday removed wares of street vendors. The traders, cocking a snook at the administration, however put their shops back together by afternoon.
The traders initially raised slogans against the drive and eventually began occupying the Mall Road again.Their shops, which encroach on a considerable portion of the Mall Road, have been a headache for local residents for the past few years. Sources said that the vendors had managed to have their way with the support of some local politicians.
The eviction started at 6am on the orders of Dehradun district magistrate S A Murugeshan and lasted nearly two hours. It was carried out by SDM Meenakshi Patwal, SHO Bhawna Kainthola, with the assistance of EO, Municipal Council, M L Shah on the spot. About the shops being restored and the purpose of the drive being defeated, the SDM said, “Nothing can change till the people of Mussoorie raise their voices and take a stand.”
Data Ram, a street vendor, said “We are just trying to earn a living here like everybody else. On one hand, the government talks about youth of the hills migrating to cities for jobs but on the other hand, they are taking away our livelihood. Obviously, we will resist it.”
After the traders said that they would suffer heavy losses with the eviction drive as it was the peak season for tourists in Mussoorie, the municipal council decided to shift the squatters to temporary stalls.
Earlier, there have been talks of a separate vendor zone for squatters but the plan has not been acted on yet. The nature and location of the zone has also not been fixed.
Rajat Sharma, a local resident, said the way things had turned out was extremely disappointing. “It just played out as a huge drama. We want the glory of Mussoorie’s Mall Road to be restored. The early morning operation was definitely a positive step in that direction, till vote-bank politics kicked in.”