India News | Over 10 Roadside Kiosks Removed in Anti-encroachment Drive in Jammu

Jammu, May 4 (PTI) Nearly a dozen kiosks were removed and seized during an anti-encroachment drive carried out by Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) here on Wednesday, officials said.

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The drive was carried out in the Vikram Chowk area of the city and triggered a brief protest by the affected people, they said.

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The officials, however, said there was no law and order situation during the drive which started from Upper Gumat on May 2 and will continue till May 19, covering different parts of the city.

“We are carrying out this drive on court orders to clear footpaths of the street vendors who have set up their stalls illegally,” a JMC official said.

He said the encroachment of pedestrian ways blocks the flow of the traffic and also results in accidents.

“We have seized a few kiosks and warned others during the drive carried out from Vikram Chowk to Gandhi Nagar. They have already been allotted special zones to earn their livelihood but any violation on their part will not be tolerated,” the official said, adding the government has launched many schemes for the welfare of street vendors.

He said the drive will continue and will cover different areas including Raghunath temple to Shaheedi Chowk, Gandhi Nagar to Shashtri Nagar, Shaheedi Chowk to City Chowk, Gandhi Nagar to Nanak Nagar, Lakhdata Bazar to chowk Chabutra, Nanak Nagar to Bahu Plaza, City Chowk to Parade, Vikram Chowk to Bagad Mandi Trikuta Nagar, Patel Bazar to Chowk Chabutra, Trikuta Nagar to Channi Biza, Chowk Chabutra to Panjtirthi and Channi Himmat-Thanger in coming days.

A man, who lost his iron-made roadside stall, claimed that he was not given any notice by the JMC even as he was running the stall since 2017 and was paying Rs 200 to the department per month.

“It was the JMC which gave me a loan under the street vendor scheme. I was at home nearby in connection with Eid-ul-Fitr when someone told me that the JMC is taking away my Khokha. I had not opened my staff for the past one month,” he said.

He claimed to have suffered a loss of over Rs one lakh as his stall was containing many goods including Cigarettes.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)