Encroachers have free run at Vikas Marg; authorities helpless
10 Oct 2014 6:15 AM IST
The footpath and one carriage way on each side of the Vikas Marg stretch is thronged by almost all sort of motor and non-motorable vehicles, leading to a severe traffic situation for daily commuters.
According to Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Muktesh Chander, ‘the Vikas Marg stretch between Laxmi Nagar and Nirman Vihar was found to be one of the worst victims of encroachment in a recent study conducted by the Delhi Traffic Police.’
He further said that penalty imposed on encroachers should be hiked to curb the menace. Around three weeks ago, a special task force was formed to deal with the traffic situation on Vikas Marg. ‘But that has only been able to decongest the road by a mere 20 per cent,’ said Kunal, District Magistrate of east Delhi. He further said that the encroachment can be curbed only if East Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi Traffic Police start taking tough actions against them.
‘After a Supreme Court order in 2006, traders in the area were asked to pay parking charges to the concerned civic body. The one-time fee ranged from Rs 30,000 to Rs 5 lakh, depending upon the area occupied by their shops’, informed RS Gupta, President of Vikas Marg Traders Association.
‘But we could never park cars outside our shops, nor could our customers, as the lanes soon got occupied by the locals as well as the encroacher’, he added.
But the members of resident welfare associations (RWA) in the area ruled out the allegations and blamed the shop owners instead. ‘I’m sure nobody from our block parks at Vikas Marg. The shop-owners there have largely contributed to encroachment by unauthorised expansion year after year,’ said BN Mahajan, general secretary of Laxmi Nagar M-Block RWA.
According to Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Muktesh Chander, ‘the Vikas Marg stretch between Laxmi Nagar and Nirman Vihar was found to be one of the worst victims of encroachment in a recent study conducted by the Delhi Traffic Police.’
He further said that penalty imposed on encroachers should be hiked to curb the menace. Around three weeks ago, a special task force was formed to deal with the traffic situation on Vikas Marg. ‘But that has only been able to decongest the road by a mere 20 per cent,’ said Kunal, District Magistrate of east Delhi. He further said that the encroachment can be curbed only if East Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi Traffic Police start taking tough actions against them.
‘After a Supreme Court order in 2006, traders in the area were asked to pay parking charges to the concerned civic body. The one-time fee ranged from Rs 30,000 to Rs 5 lakh, depending upon the area occupied by their shops’, informed RS Gupta, President of Vikas Marg Traders Association.
‘But we could never park cars outside our shops, nor could our customers, as the lanes soon got occupied by the locals as well as the encroacher’, he added.
But the members of resident welfare associations (RWA) in the area ruled out the allegations and blamed the shop owners instead. ‘I’m sure nobody from our block parks at Vikas Marg. The shop-owners there have largely contributed to encroachment by unauthorised expansion year after year,’ said BN Mahajan, general secretary of Laxmi Nagar M-Block RWA.
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