GDA starts sealing shops found carrying out polluting activities
OWNERS PROTEST Authority sealed shops willy-nilly, say owners, plan to meet vice chairperson over the issue
Earlier I ran a business of fabrics but these days of late I had been selling metal doors and plywood but GDA sealed my shop too. We will meet the vice chairperson. The closure of our business will hit us hard. FURKAAN AHMAD, shop owner at Mangal Bazar, Indirapuram
GHAZIABAD: In the wake of rising pollution in the city, the Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) has kicked off closing polluting shops.
Authority officials on Saturday visited shops in different localities of Indirapuram and sealed those allegedly found polluting, including activities like welding, fabrication works, etc. In all, 71 shops were sealed during the first phase of the drive and more will be sealed in coming days, they said.
“The drive has been initiated against shops which were found carrying polluting activities and were sealed. Our enforcement department will identify and seal more shops in coming days. In the initial phase we sealed about 71 shops. The drive has been initiated in wake of rising pollution in the city. The shop owners were earlier asked not to carry out polluting activities but they violated the directions,” said SK Rai, the secretary of the authority.
“We will be carrying out sealing in colonies which are still maintained by GDA. The rest of the colonies have been handed over to the corporation and it is up to them if they wish to carry out such sealing,” he added.
The shop owners, on the other hand, said that they will soon meet the vice chairperson of the authority.
“The GDA teams arrived suddenly on Saturday and sealed our shops. Earlier I was having a fabrics business but now I opened an office and was selling metal doors and plywood. However, the authority sealed my shop too, besides others,” said Furkaan Ahmad, a shop owner at Mangal Bazar in Indirapuram.
“Our association office bearers will be going to meet the vice chairperson and sort out the issue. Otherwise the closure of our business will hit us hard,” he added.
Earlier in January this year the authority had sealed 37 shops but de-sealed them after the shop owners submitted affidavits that they will comply with directions of GDA that the activities will not spread to the roads and no polluting activities will take place.
The shop owners then had also protested the move by GDA.
The sealing was taken up in January after the federation of apartment owners association had filed a PIL in October, 2018 and contended to put a check on commercial establishments running in residential areas of Indirapuram.
They had highlighted presence of 1494 such shops in Indirapuram.