Apart from the impact on traffic, shopkeepers in the area also suffer due to encroachment in front of their establishments. TRAFFIC is severely disrupted on M G Road because of encroachment by hawkers in the area, prompting an NGO to write to Pune Commissioner of Police Amitabh Gupta, highlighting the issue and urging him to take appropriate action.
“Hundreds of hawkers have set up illegal stalls on MG Road. They are spread alongside the entire stretch of the road, but the encroachment is higher in the area behind Hotel Aurora Towers. It often results in traffic blockage leading to chaos in an already busy area,” said Raj Singh, Founder of Sikh Helpline Foundation, a human rights and civic issues NGO. “If a vehicle is parked incorrectly on M G Road, the traffic department tows it promptly, but the same authority has turned a blind eye to the encroachment problem,” he added.
Singh said encroachment has been on for years, but the authorities have not been able to solve the problem. “Our foundation has reported the issue several times over the last few years, but the authorities have failed to take any concrete action. Even when police remove encroachers, they return after a few hours,” he said.
Apart from the impact on traffic, shopkeepers in the area also suffer due to encroachment in front of their establishments. The organisation plans to send a legal notice to the CEO of the Pune Cantonment Board and the DCP (traffic) regarding the issue.
“After years of inaction, I believe the only solution is to go through the legal route,” Singh said.
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