Massive eviction drives at many parts of Agartala to clear roads from encroachment

As scheduled, the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) during past three days launched its massive encroachment free drive in various parts of the city along with Traffic and PWD departments area to clear the passages, roads and footpaths from encroachment and on Thursday evening massive eviction drive conducted to free the second biggest market of the city, Battala Bazar.

Earlier, on Tuesday and Wednesday, big teams of AMC task forces and other law enforcing authorities including the Traffic department started their eviction drive  to clear several areas of the city from encroachers, especially from the mushrooming footpath hawkers, who had occupied vast areas of city footpaths for decades. And the teams have almost cleared the busiest Sakuntala Road, RMS Chowmuhani, Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan areas and portions of Durga Chowmuhani market.

As part of beautification drive, the AMC Mayor Dipak Majumder along with a jumbo team comprises with Commissioner, local councilors and market authorities had recently visited different corners of the Battala Bazar and had a detailed discussion with local traders and other businessman for initiating a cleanliness drive and encroachment free market, specially to clear the road from Battala Shiv Mandir to Dashamighat.

The Mayor and AMC commissioner has also personally interacted with traders and urged them to free all roads and lanes, which are illegally encroached by the traders for their so-called expansion of trades and they had also given time to clear encroachment.

While, as per the decision, on Thursday afternoon the AMC team with bulldozers and other machinery started their eviction drive in the Battala market areas and Dashmighat road and till evening the road was almost cleared from encroachment.

From Tuesday  AMC massive cleaning drives in major parts of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas after Durga Puja  has started to give respite to the city dwellers  from congested footpath and frequent flood like situation after heavy rain falls and to prepare the city –a total clean.

AN AMC official said that after monitoring the ground works of the city's cleaning activities and complaints over encroachment of footpaths by unauthorized vendors, during the past three days, AMC has started massive eviction drives along with cleaning of drains, markets, water bodies and residential areas. All the municipal officials have deployed on the ground to supervise the eviction and cleaning drives and to complete all works in a stipulated time.

While speaking with media persons, a Traffic official said that during three days' drive in different parts of Agartala city, the Traffic department has issued a total of 2003 notices against illegal parking and lifted altogether 16 cars for illegal parking.

He said that the Traffic department in association with AMC is clearing all roads from illegal parking and footpath stalls to make the city roads congestion free.

AMC officials added that during the last three days' drive, the Task Force and Encroachment free teams have cleared many illegal footpath stalls and have also imposed restriction that with authorized vendor licence, no footpath hawker will not be allowed to run their businesses in the city roads.

AMC officials said that encroachment drive is regular duty of AMC and Corporation will not allow any unauthorized vendors or hawkers to set up their makeshift stall in any part of the city, which creates hindrance on city traffic . They said that no hawker will be allowed to sell their products on roads and if notified, AMC will take necessary action at the earliest. The AMC and traffic teams have also raided all garments stalls in the newly constructed cover-drains and have also seized garments.

However, AMC Police Task Force is now seen moving on the main roads to check encroachments on roads, drains and footpaths and AMC to continue its encroachment removal drive relentlessly in all areas.

It may be recalled here that during massive construction drives of covered drains, the city dwellers are now daily witnessing massive traffic jams in every nook and corner of the city and the suffering has increased at its manifold due to unauthorized stalls by footpath vendors.