Residents up against hawkers occupying land

AURANGABAD: The residents of the bank colony, where the authorities had recently offered land to the hawkers on a temporary basis, are now raising voice against the arrangement and demanding that the vendors be vacated from the area.
In a bid to remove the hawkers from the nearby main road, the police had offered them an open area inside the colony.But over a period of time, the hawkers grabbed a significant space on the site thereby making it difficult for the residents of the colony to move freely. One of the residents, who preferred to not be quoted, told TOI that the hawkers have blocked the main entrance of the colony to a large extent. "It is a private land and hawkers should not be allowed here," he said.
The local corporator and Shiv Sena group leader in AMC Raju Vaidya has taken up the matter with the municipal commissioner, Om Prakash Bakoria requesting him to remove the hawkers. "I have asked the municipal authorities to vacate the land from the clutches of the hawkers, but nothing has changed in the last three to four months. The hawkers are also occupying a significant part of the main road which is eventually leading to traffic congestion on the spot," he said.
Interestingly, with no full proof solution at its disposal, the civic body generally takes action against the hawkers whenever an issue comes to forefront in the general body or standing committee meetings. The officers carry out the drive and displace the hawkers, but the adamant hawkers reoccupy the space within a few hours.
Recently, a team of anti-encroachment department in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) held a drive on Gajanan Maharaj Mandir road and imposed fine on the hawkers. The authorities cleared the road for traffic but two hours later the hawkers resurfaced on the same spot.
For the past many years, the municipal administration has been carrying out similar drives against hawkers at TV Centre, Pundlik Nagar, Gajanan Maharaj Mandir road, Kumbhar, Aurangpura, and railway station area. But one can see commuters still facing hardship in the localities.
With no proper arrangements and dedicated zone for them, the hawkers are seen occupying space on footpaths, roads and public utility land in Garkheda, Aurangapura, Shahabazar, Gulmandi, TV Centre, Peer Bazar, Shahanoormiyan Dargaha, Usmanpura, Gajanan Mandir area and railway station area among other spots.