A day after the GDA’s anti-encroachment drive in Indirapuram, residents of Ghaziabad question the authority's selective action.
A day after the GDA’s anti-encroachment drive in Indirapuram, residents of Ghaziabad township called the effort “selective in nature”. Speaking to City Spidey, residents said the anti-encroachment team, which was demolishing unauthorised structures in the area, left out more harmful encroachments such as cigarette kiosks, while bringing its axe down on relatively less harmful shops such as presswallas or laundrymen.
Residents said while the makeshift arrangements of the presswallas, who provided essential laundry service to the residents of nearby societies, were destroyed, the more harmful cigarette kiosks, street food stalls and mattress makers were left to be.
The GDA team had conducted an anti-encroachment drive around Vaibhav Khand and a few other areas yesterday.
“We have been complaining specifically about the cigarette kiosks and the street vendors. But these shops resumed operations up immediately after the anti-encroachment team left while the presswallas had to shut shop,” complained Mohit Dwivedi, AOA president of Krishna Apra Gardens.
He also pointed out, “We do not object to removing presswallas, but all kinds of the encroachments need to be removed. What is the point of such drives when the problem resurfaces moments after the teams leave the spot?”
Similar views were shared by Mohit Mishra from HRC Professional Hub. Mishra said these drives are just eyewash and the problem of encroachment won’t be addressed unless the vendors are relocated. “All the cigarette kiosks are up and running. We have been complaining against them for quite sometime now. We had also demanded for their relocation but to no avail,” Mishra added.
However, officials of GDA maintained that the anti-encroachment drives will be conducted frequently so to curb reappearance of the demolished structures.
