The Municipal Corporation (MC) and the district administration seems to get no success in preventing the encroachments in the city, especially at the Gondlanwala Ada at the Grand Trunk (G.T) Road, where different vendors have encroached upon both sides of the road, displaying their wares, thereby creating more problems for the motorists and pedestrians. More than 50 vendors also throw waste on the road, thus polluting the atmosphere with stench.
A lack of concern for common man’s problems on the part of traffic police and other authorities concerned, has led to the creation of an unauthorized fruit market at the Gondlanwala Chowk. Though the municipal corporation, district administration and police have carried out multiple anti-encroachment campaigns in the past but the vendors make a comeback soon after every crackdown.
When a fruit-cart vendor was questioned about the encroachments, he said that the vendors are paying rent to the officials from the municipal corporation on monthly basis to avoid any anti-encroachment campaign.
The citizens complained that they were unable to find passage for their vehicles and even the pedestrians generally found it difficult to move around because both sides of the road were occupied by the vendors, who had set up makeshift shops and temporary kiosks there.
They maintained that the encroachments also caused traffic mess in the city and the transporters and pedestrians were confronted with numerous problems on daily basis.
The citizens were of the opinion that the encroachments were quite rampant in all the markets and bazaars of the city and the authorities concerned seem helpless in this regard. They demanded the commissioner and deputy commissioner of Gujranwala City to take strict notice of the issue and all the encroachments from the busy intersections of the city should be removed immediately.
Published in Daily Times, September 4th 2018.
