Nashik civic body to remove illegal banners from chowks

Nashik: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to remove all illegal hoardings, banners and other encroachments on all chowks of the city that obstruct motorists’ vision. This decision comes after the horrific bus accident at Mirchi hotel chowk that killed 12 passengers.
NMC’s anti-encroachment department held a meeting with the divisional officers of all six divisions asking the latter to prepare a list of such banners, hoardings and encroachments.The department will start taking action against these encroachments once these divisions submit the list.
Following the directives of NMC commissioner Chandrakant Pulkundwar, who asked the department to remove all the encroachments on the chowks, the anti-encroachment department held a meeting.
NMC officials said hoardings have been put up on various squares on the city roads that cause obstacles to the vehicle movement and can lead to accidents.
The officials said apart from banners and roads, the divisional officers will also check whether there are unauthorized structures at the chowks. The town planning department will make demarcation about the illegal structures on the road squares.
“We will start taking actions against the illegal banners, hoardings and encroachments on all the chowkss in the city once we get reports from divisional officers,” said an NMC official.
The officials from the NMC’s town planning department said they have already started a survey of all the junctions on the national and state highways.
“We have just conducted a survey of Mirchi hotel chowk on Aurangabad road, where a mishap occurred recently. The square is being widened there. Moreover, the ring road connecting the highway from both sides at the square is to be widened shortly,” said the official.
“We are also conducting the survey of chowks to know the visibility at the roads. The survey report will soon be submitted to the NMC commissioner and the anti-encroachment department once it is over,” added the official.