Nehrunagar nuisance to be shifted to Gujari Bazar by AMC

Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation(AMC) has taken a decision to relocate the hawkers on Nehrunagar-Satellite road to Gujari Bazar venue at river front(east).

For last couple of years, over 200 hawkers have been creating nuisance for walkers and commuters by occupying entire length of footpaths and even a portion of main road on Nehrunagar circle to Lakshmibai statue stretch of Satellite road in Ahmedabad(west).

The AMC teams failed to remove them due to stay given by the High Court. Recently the AMC told the High Court that hawkers were needed to be removed for setting up a bus-stand on this stretch. The High Court asked AMC to look for alternative venue for hawkers. The AMC has now decided to offer river front(east) venue to them as an option. They will be able to do their business here from Tuesday to Saturday, while Sunday will be allotted to Gujari Bazar and Monday will be reserved for cleaning task.

Worth noting that the stretch on Satellite road has Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) lane attached to it. This already had made this road narrower. Nuisance of hawkers has further hurt the width of the road.

Author’s note: Anybody’s footpath, anybody’s road!

(in photo: AMTS bus-stand occupied by hawkers on Satellite road)

Footpaths in this city have become anybody’s property. Any person would set up his/her stall on any footpath of his/her choice. Later the other person would set up such stall next to him. Eventually there will be a row of such stalls on entire length of footpath on that road. As they don’t have to pay any tax, they don’t issue bill, they don’t have to pay rent, they don’t have to pay for electricity, they would sale the goods on cheaper rate.

Attracted by cheap rates, people would come to their stalls. If stalls are on footpath, the visitors would park their vehicles next to the footpath which means a road. With more and more people coming in, there will be food stalls forming another row on road. The cars and other vehicles parked on road side would disturb the movement of traffic massively. Parked car will be reversed after shopping and cause huge inconvenience to traffic. If Municipal Corporation teams would intervene to remove such encroachments, some NGO or social worker would pop up. Money will be collected from each stall owner and case will be filed in court. Once the stay is achieved against removal of footpath bazar, the case would continue. Under safety of stay given by court, the road would become destination for more people who want to set up their stalls. Stall owners would earn so much that they would purchase second-hand car or loading rickshaws to move their goods. So every evening you would see number of rickshaws carrying goods and parked next to footpath. If at all court shows sign of favoring Municipal Corporation’s action, the lawyer of stall owner would seek alternative venue citing that stall owners are poor and it’s a question of their survival! Meanwhile amid all this nonsense, a common man who wants safe and smooth footpath or road would face great difficulty, inconvenience and trouble.

This nuisance if not curbed with strong hand will make city unlivable in future. Law Garden, Nehrunagar, IIM road, CEPT-Commerce College circle stretch, one by one all important roads are being occupied. If you visit IIMA road late in the night, you would find waste material scattered everywhere on footpath and road. Apart from traffic and other nuisance, this also is a side-effect.

– DeshGujarat