Anti encroachment drive in Dhanbad

Intended at clearing the roads of all encroachments to ensure hassle free traffic and also ensure proper cleanliness, Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC) Tuesday carried out an anti-encroachment drive at Hirapur locality during which around 12 roadside shops were removed.

The drive conducted under Anil Kumar, Food Inspector primarily concentrated near the gate of Zila Parishad office during which police team accompanying the DMC officials also seized their electronic weighing machines as punitive measure against the rule violation, but later returned the same with a strict warning to mend their ways. The DMC team faced some resistance from the shopkeepers during the drive but it later prevailed over the errant shopkeepers, persuading them not to put their articles on the road by extending their shops.

Anil Kumar said, “The drive which began today and will continue in future is meant to clear the roads to ensure smooth flow of traffic as the issue of traffic jam due to encroachment of roads repeatedly comes during the meetings of district road safety committee.”

“Majority of 10 shops on which action has been initiated today are such fruit sellers who have carried out extensions of their shops beyond their shop limits and put articles on the road,” said Kumar adding, action had also been taken against some other fruit sellers putting their articles in the cart.

“We initiated the action over the repeated complaints about the encroachment obstructing the movement of traffic and also over the garbage dumped by the shopkeepers,” said Kumar.

“Though we had seized the electronic weighing machines of the rule violators initially but later returned the same to them after taking a written undertaking from them that they would abide by rules and never extend their shops on road,” further said Kumar.

“The fruit sellers have been instructed not to put their shop at a particular place like a permanent shop and rather keep on moving in order to avoid traffic jam” Kumar added.