Seven shops evicted near Ooty central bus stand

UDHAGAMANDALAM: The highways department evicted seven shops located on encroached lands near central bus stand in the town on Tuesday.
These seven shops were evicted three months ago. But they made a comeback.
“Constant watch is required. Otherwise, these shops running as permanent ones make a comeback after a few days of eviction. All the seven shops evicted today were located encroaching highways land near the Ooty central bus stand,” Prakash, assistant engineer, state highways, said.
According to him, the illegal shops were enjoying power connection. A crane was used to remove the shops, which included an Aavin parlour.
Besides this, there are several encroachments by business establishments near Ooty Lake, Garden Road, Ooty municipal market-Blue mountain road area, ATC bus stand, Charing Cross and Uzhavar Sandai.
District collector J Innocent Divya, who inspected the central bus stand and Ooty municipal market area on Monday, instructed the officials to evict the encroachers to pave way for easy traffic and two-wheeler parking in the hill town. Most of the shops, established by encroaching either revenue lands or municipal lands or highways, are Aavin parlours selling tea and coffee besides Aavin products. These shops are owned by local party cadres.
According to Ooty municipal officials, steps are being taken to evict the encroachers.