Shops in Sarojini Nagar Mkt face demolition heat
NEW DELHI: Continuing its crackdown on illegal extensions, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Thursday demolished ramps erected at 40 shops at the Sarojini Nagar Market.
The demolition drive is being conducted on the directions of the special task force constituted by the Union ministry for housing and urban affairs for removing encroachments in public places.
The drive began around 11 am and continued till 4 in the evening.
The shopkeepers, however, said the civic agency had targeted extensions outside 100 shops.
“The anti-encroachment squads targeted shops in the export market. There was no resistance from shopkeepers . They cooperated with the licensing teams and removed goods and other encroachments from government l and,” Ashok Randhawa, president, Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders, said.
During the joint action that saw the participation of traffic police and Delhi Police personnel, SDMC targeted shop owners who had encroached on the road to display their items.
The south, north and the east Delhi municipal corporations also removed squatters from 21 kilometres of carriageways. The agencies impounded 90 vehicles, and 120 temporary and 40 permanent encroachments.
In south Delhi, the drive was undertaken from Satya Niketan to Gurdwara Road, Greater Kailash-i (from Archna Cinema to N and M Block Market), Kailash Colony Market, Green Park, Moti Bagh and surrounding areas.
Officials said that over 10km of road was cleared for the use of pedestrians.
“In Mahipalpur, encroachments were removed from two km of road, including 1,500 sq feet government land occupied by vendors and shopkeepers,” said an SDMC official from the licensing department.
The north corporation removed encroachments near the New Delhi Railway Station, Civic Centre, Mata Sundri College, DB Gupta Road and Qutub Road.
“We sealed a mall at Gurudwara Road, Karol Bagh, for misusing the property. The action was taken on the direction of the court- appointed monitoring committee,” said Nitin Promod, deputy commissioner, Karol Bagh zone.
In East Delhi, 27 vehicles were impounded from Bhajanpura, Khajuri, Yamuna Vihar and Gokalpuri areas.