3 days after drive in Khari Baoli, it’s business as usual
NEW DELHI: Just three days after the special task force (STF) cleared encroachments from the lanes of Khari Baoli, a wholesale hub in Old Delhi, the chaos was back in the market.
Shop owners said unless regular drives are carried out and government formulates a comprehensive policy to decongest the Walled City’s markets, no permanent solution can be achieved.
When Hindustan Times visited Khari Baoli on Thursday, it was business as usual. Except for the remains of a few permanent structures demolished by enforcement teams, street vendors and handcarts were back on the roads.
Mohammad Rizwan, who owns a chemist shop, said it was for the first time in years that he had seen the actual width of the road outside his shop when the encroachments was being removed on Monday.
“I had no idea that the road here was that wide. It is occupied by handcarts and commercial vehicles. To add to the chaos, shop owners park their private vehicles in front of their shops,” Rizwan said.
Many shop owners complained that while development plans are made and implemented in markets across Delhi to make them more accessible to shoppers, the civic agencies or the Delhi government have done little to improve the condition here.
Mehmood Ansari, owner of a wholesale betel nut shop, said the unauthorised extensions of shops and illegal occupancy of the main roads have made the place inaccessible.
“Shoppers do not come here to buy things anymore because reaching this market is a nightmare. People have to brave the rogue driving by cycle and battery operated rickshaws and mind the movement of goods not just on the roads but also on the pavement,” Ansari said.
Ansari said apart from the commercial vehicles that loading and unload goods, these shops have a unique concept of ‘mobile godowns’. Owners of small shops, who cannot afford to have storage space, permanently park handcarts with their goods outside from where these items are taken as per demand.
Some said no facilities reach them because of ghettoisation of the area. This is a primary reason why shop owners have illegally constructed facilities such as water dispensers and urinals on their own.
“The civic agencies have not constructed these facilities but that doesn’t mean we do not need them. We spend hours in our shops and require basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets,” said Manohar Lal, owner of a wholesale grain shop.
According to locals, over a dozen structures were demol- ished on Monday.
An official of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s licensing department, who is part of the anti-encroachment drive, said removal of illegal structures and parking would be beneficial for the shop owners.
“Over the years, these shop owners have created an unsafe space for themselves. Though they are resisting now, they will realise its importance. When any accident occurs, they complain of narrow roads and encroachments but when these are removed they are the first to complain,” said the official who is not authorised to speak to the media.