Here the shopkeepers have the complete say…politics has complete support…corporation officials are all helpless…
AUTHOR VINAY KOCHHAR.AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH.
This market was established in the middle of the city for the convenience of the people during the British rule 200 years ago. This market is known as Putlighar. But, these days the shopkeepers of Main Bazaar, Shimla Market, New Shopping Market (Gol Market) have encroached upon this place. This encroachment is up to 2 kilometers. Not only this, they are getting full support of 2 Congress councilors here, so, even the Municipal Corporation is afraid of taking any action here. It is said that the shopkeepers who have encroached here have completely established their dominance up to 7 feet.
It becomes very difficult for pedestrians and two-wheeler drivers to pass through. If someone speaks against them, his tongue is pulled out. Recently, it was also discussed in this market that when a journalist went there for coverage, all the shopkeepers opened a front against him. He ran away from there with great difficulty, saving his life. It means that the hooliganism of the shopkeepers here is at its peak. On the other hand, some people who follow the rules requested the corporation and the government with folded hands to remove this type of encroachment and they would cooperate with the administration and the government in this task.
Politics dominates the administration
After a thorough investigation, it has been found that politics is very dominant behind the encroachment here. 2 Congress councilors have a hand in this encroaching market, if someone from the corporation administration comes to remove the encroachment, then both the councilors get into a tussle with the corporation officials, and create obstacles in their government work. The name of one councilor has cropped up many times in this, many criminal cases are also registered against him. It is said that politics dominates the administration here. Earlier it was considered a stronghold of the Congress party, now the shopkeepers have become the favourites of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, therefore, Netaji calls their president beforehand to remove the encroachment, otherwise the corporation will take action. This keeps the credibility of Netaji intact in both the government and the administration.
Big question…how justified is encroachment up to 7 feet
Investigation revealed that the shopkeepers have encroached up to 7 feet. They have made small stands in front of their shops and have given them on rent to someone else. It has been found out that the shopkeepers here charge them a thousand rupees per day. This means the place belongs to the government, but the shopkeepers are taking advantage of it. They are earning an additional income of thirty thousand rupees per month. There is not one place in the market, but 1 thousand such places are running. Due to this, the government administration is losing its income in crores. In this work, the government and a category of some officers are supporting the wrong people for a few rupees.
Encroachment behind the jam
Some shopkeepers clearly said that they are against encroachment. But what to do, if we do not encroach, then other shopkeepers encroach in front of their shops. We have complained about this to the Nagar Nigam many times, but no solution has been found till date. Still, the corporation should take a big decision against this encroachment. If we take big action, then everything will improve. The main reason for the jam here is also encroachment. There is a jam of about 2-3 kilometers every day. If the traffic police starts taking any action, then a group of shopkeepers starts raging against them. Due to compulsion, police has to back down from its action.
…..This is an important step which is very necessary for the administration and the corporation to take.
1) First of all, the government should give free hand to the corporation to stop encroachment here. There should be no interference of any leader or minister in the government. There should be a team of honest officers and employees to take action who should not be afraid of taking action against those who go against the law.
2) No one should have any idea before taking action, there should be good coordination between the police and the corporation team. If this becomes possible then understand that a big success can be achieved in breaking the old tradition of encroachment.
3) Even if any leader or his favorite comes in front of the encroachment removal team, the team should have so much courage that it should not hesitate at all in taking action against them. A big section should be imposed against all these under legal action, so that these people never even think of supporting lies in future.
4) The reports of senior officers and employees should be known to each other at every moment. The officers should keep sending these reports to Chandigarh headquarters so that the government also gets to know what is happening in the city and what their leaders are doing. One advantage of this is that the government will get to know the details of the black deeds of its favorite leaders and how deep in the water they are.
5) The corporation will also have to act with full standards. They should not care about anyone. They should know that they are government officials and their job is to serve the public. If any citizen is facing inconvenience due to encroachment, then they should be ready to uproot that evil immediately. If they work honestly, then they win the hearts of the common people. But, this is not possible because corruption and bribery have sold the integrity of many clerks and employees.
Argument of a corporation official
We cannot do anything in this matter. If they go out to take action, political people call them and ask them to go back. We know that there is a huge problem of encroachment in Putlighar, but our hands are tied from all sides, so even if we go for action, the encroachers are already informed through phone that the team is coming today. Everything is removed from outside.