Anti-encroachment drive spills on to city streets, affects traffic

Patna: Chaos descended near Patna Junction on Friday morning after an anti-encroachment drive by a Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) turned violent as roadside vendors clashed with police, injuring a few and stalling traffic for more than an hour.
An anti-encroachment drive is under way in the GPO roundabout area following the direction of divisional commissioner Kumar Ravi to ensure smooth traffic flow.On Friday, around 10 in the morning, a municipal corporation team began removing encroachments from the area.

According to sources, roadside vendors who had gathered there demanded alternative spaces be provided to them before the encroachments are removed. Even as they protested, municipal employees and police instructed them to move their carts and vacate the area.
This led to an argument between the PMC team and vendors and soon the situation turned volatile. During the argument, a police officer allegedly overturned a vendor’s cart, causing food items to lay strewn on the ground. This angered the vendors and a clash broke out.
Shahjade Alam, secretary of the Footpath Town Level Federation (TLF), alleged a few vendors — Rashid, Sanchi, Bablu, and Gajju — were beaten up by the police and sustained injuries, a charge denied by the police.
“A minor scuffle occurred between the vendors and the municipal team. The street vendors were a little angry as their goods were scattered on the road. Some vendors, while fleeing from the site, received minor injuries. The situation was soon brought under control and traffic was normalised after talking to the vendors,” Kotwali SHO Jyoti Kumar Basu said, adding, “The encroachments were removed from the area. No complaints were lodged from either side.”
However, street vendors alleged that the municipal corporation has been committing atrocities on them. They alleged that the anti-encroachment drive was carried out without prior notice and their carts were overturned and goods damaged, which would lead to huge financial loss.
Alam said there are around 25,000 registered street vendors who operate in the municipal area with proper identity cards provided by the PMC. It costs around Rs 300 to Rs 1,500 to make an identity card, he said.
“No prior information was provided by the PMC officials. Our goods were thrown away and destroyed. The street vendors should be provided with proper vending space,” Alam urged.
Meanwhile, some commuters got caught in the middle of the situation and faced a harrowing time catching their trains or reaching their destination.
“I got late for office as traffic was disrupted near Patna Junction roundabout for some time,” said Rajiv Kumar, a resident of Kadamkuan.