Jamshedpur, Sep 21: As part of its campaign to remove illegal constructions, the East Singhbhum district administration on Tuesday launched a drive to remove encroachment on the approach road to state-owned MGM Medical College and Hospital in Sakchi.
The drive was carried jointly by Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) and Tata Steel USIL with help of district police force and JAP (Jharkhand Armed Police). The administration used JCB earthmover to demolish 10 illegal structures, mostly vegetable sellers and eateries, during the drive.
According to district officials, they would ensure that the area is cleared of any type of encroachments including the manner in which the shopkeepers had extended their shops. Encroachments in the city are omnipresent and thriving, much to the discomfort of the ordinary citizen. The city is known for the encroachments which blot the urban landscape.
An official said the vendors and kiosks were seized from the places from where the administration had received complaints that anti-social elements used to consume liquor sitting there and also indulge in eve-teasing. “We cannot compromise with the safety of the market place. Moreover , people also find it inconvenient to move into the market freely with the passages getting choked due to the make-shift shops,“ he said.
Experts feel that the city has not expanded horizontally, as a result of which a major chunk of the population continues to remain concentrated in a 5-km radius. Lakhs of vehicles, lakhs of people, a few hundred flats and a few dozen shops and malls have mushroomed here. While old settlers find it difficult to adjust to the new situation, newcomers find it messy.
Unless administration active, no scope for development safe passage to commuters.
Encroachment is nothing but planned urban Taliban to capture demand pockets. Create fearful situation to compelling public not to visit. Ultimately, business community will be worest victims.