Pay for corporators' chai-paani and enjoy

LUCKNOW: Guess, who is encouraging rampant encroachment in the areas around Narhi? Ask any of the local vendors, occupying the roadside space and the answer will be that they have been ''helped''by Samajwadi Party corporator Bantu Yadav. But this help is for a price, of course. Only this part of the story none dares narrate.
The Narhi corporator, known for his bullying tactics, reportedly extorts a heavy sum from all the illegal vendors of his locality for saving them from LMC bulldozers.The price could be anything between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500. But none of these encroachers would go on record on this. Instead, the stock reply from them is: "We are workers of Samajwadi Party and corporator Bantu Yadav."
Says Shahabuddin, a fruit-juice seller: "All these shops are here with the help of corporator...". And before he could speak further he is intercepted by a bunch of his fellow vendors, popping a question themselves: "What’s the matter?"
According to LMC officials, while eight FIRs had been lodged against these encroachers under section 26 A-1 and 26 A-2 of Municipal Corporation Act 1959, in none of them, Police or LMC officials dared take any action against the erring encroachers. Simply because they were backed by Bantu Yadav.
When contacted Bantu Yadav boasted of taking money for his kharcha-paani. "Yes, I take it," he admitted " and I am not afraid of anyone."
And if you thought Bantu Yadav’s is an isolated case, here is some more. Nagendra Singh Chauhan, the Congress corporator is also believed to be running a flourishing encroachment business, of course in connivance with the LMC officials.
According to LMC sources, almost all the encroachment offenders thriving on pavements and footpath near a Hazratganj cinema hall enjoy Chauhan’s support. The price of his chai-paani: Rs 1500 to Rs 2000.
Then there are some corporators who don’t believe in running business through others. Take BJP’s Asha Maurya. She allegedly got at least eight shops built over a septic tank of a public lavatory. And after this encroachment came up, she got the shops alloted in the name of her brother.