The drive meant to evict unauthorised roadside vendors launched by the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) has slowed down over the days. Moreover, the result of the eviction is not tangible at the bustling places in the city where the drive was mostly launched.
The drive which was started by Mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ accompanied by the municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey nearly two weeks ago with a fanfare took no time to slow down as apprehended by many.
Things have come back to the square one with the vendors, removed by the officials, have got back in place once the civic body team turned back. The people sound angry over the drive fizzling out with no effect being seen on the bustling roads. “Traffic is again crawling thanks to the vendors. We have received no respite from the problems,” said a denizen of the city. However, putting on a brave face, the officer in charge MCD claimed that the drive has been going on in full swing in the city.
A local vendor trading from near Dispensary Road Salim said, “We are here for at least three months. Police do take rounds sometimes, but the officers rarely visit these places. However, in case we are evicted by MCD the civic body must arrange alternatives for us. Otherwise our survival would be at stake as this is the only thing through which we make our living.”
Another vendor Chand Shah said, “The civic body officers sometimes come to the places we are trading from and remove us. However, generally, they make us to cough up fine and we are allowed to be where we are. If MCD is serious in removing us we must be provided with appropriate alternative sites from where we can continue our trade. This is the only source of our income and we cannot survive if things are snatched away from us.”
Anchal, a visitor to the city, sounded annoyed over the State of things here. “The roads in the market are very narrow. The two-wheelers which ply here in a very large number make things frightfully difficult for the pedestrians. Things are further compounded when the vendors occupy space on the roadsides. The civic body here must do something to ease things for us. And they must be serious,” she said.
Quizzed over people’s annoyance over the much-hyped drive petering out over days, the MCD officer in charge was on the denial mode.
“There is no question of the drive slowing down. It has been going on in full swing since the day it was launched in the city. It would not stop unless and until all the unauthorised vendors are removed from the city. The places marked by us are mainly the busy roads around places like the Clock Tower and Gandhi Park. The bustling roads with heavy traffic are being freed from the unauthorised
vendors. We have seized around 12 wooden carts and the goods seized have been transported in two trucks. More is in the offing.”
