Will remove encroachment in a month: Paharganj traders

Following last weeks demolition drive by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in Paharganj,traders at the 100-year-old main bazaar have agreed to give way and remove encroachments themselves.

Following last weeks demolition drive by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in Paharganj,traders at the 100-year-old main bazaar have agreed to give way and remove encroachments themselves.

Ending a week-long protest against the MCD drive,the traders and the agency have reached a sort of compromise. The MCD for the time being will not insist the traders align their shops in accordance with the area map of the 1930s,a condition it had imposed earlier,and the traders will in turn voluntarily clear away all encroachments on government land.

Work has already begun and traders claim all encroachments will be cleared in a months time,making way for the Paharganj street-widening and beautification project for the Commonwealth Games.

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Regularisation and the uniform alignment of all shops in the area have,meanwhile,been put on hold by the authorities and a new plan is being developed.

Last week,MCD had carried out anti-encroachment drive,pulling down shutters of nearly 30 shops. The traders alleged the civic body had not served a prior notice for the demolition.

Pointing out that the drive was part of the beautification plan ahead of the Games,MCD officials said only shops that had encroached on public land were shut.

The agency has decidedcarry out streetscaping and beautification,apart from upgrading areas around the guesthouses in the zone.

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