The civic authorities on Wednesday conducted a clean-up drive on Broadway by removing illegal structures and extensions made to shops in the area, amid resistance from a section of traders.
The drive, which began around 10 a.m., continued till evening. Officials from health, works and town planning standing committees and civic heads led the drive.
Though the civic body had been contemplating the operation for quite some time, the Broadway fire that gutted four shops on Monday offered the trigger for the eviction drive.
A large number of shops located on the flanks of Broadway had extended their businesses to footpaths. While some shops had boards and structures protruding to the pathway, others made display boards and metal frames from which they hung their products including clothes, explained Mayor Soumini Jain, who led the demolition drive.
Besides illegal business by street vendors, a section of traders, who had opened shops in the busy area, had occupied footpaths to do business from makeshift stalls. They had even deployed their staff to sell products in the encroached areas, said Ms. Jain. The operation of a few illegal food kiosks near the corporation building on Broadway was also stopped. The stalls were found selling foodstuff in unhygienic conditions, she added.
The civic body had been contemplating action against violators on the busy stretch following complaints from genuine traders and the general public. The boards and extensions made on Broadway obstructed the movement of fire tenders to the accident scene on Monday. Moreover, illegal parking of vehicles on the stretch proved it all the more tough for rescue teams to access the area. The loss due to fire could have been brought down significantly had fire tenders reached the spot quickly, she said.
There will now be regular monitoring in the area to keep it free of encroachments and to make pathways accessible to pedestrians. The unauthorised business concerns thriving in the area had also impacted the business of licensed traders. A few traders’ organisations had been repeatedly raising the issue for quite some time, the Mayor said.
Meanwhile, a section of trade union members and traders staged a protest against the eviction drive. Anticipating resistance, the civic administration had sought the assistance of the police for the clean-up operation. A section of trade union workers also allegedly scared away casual labourers hired by the civic body to remove illegal boards and structures.
Protesting against the drive, a few head-load workers, who reached the corporation office in the afternoon, threatened to physically attack the Mayor, complained Ms. Jain.
