Drive launched to clear highways of encroachments in Haryana

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, July 19

Juice. food vends and tea stalls are a sight too familiar for commuters on the Delhi-Ambala National Highway-44, and other highways. Taking action against these encroachments, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started a campaign in various districts of the state to remove illegal vends from highways.

The drive was started at the Panipat-Ambala stretch of NH-44 and the Ambala-Kaithal stretch of NH-152.

Incidents of commuters, who had stopped at vends on NH-44 in Kurukshetra and Ambala, meeting with accidents have been reported in the past.

According to the route patrolling team of the NHAI, any kind of vending on national highways is not allowed and these vends pose a risk to the safety of commuters as a number of vehicles can be spotted parked around these unauthorised carts and tea sellers on NH-44.

In a bid to ensure the safety of commuters, all illegal access points are also being closed. Encroachments beneath the flyovers are also being removed in an effort to streamline traffic in areas which witness frequent jams, such as the area near the Ambala Cantonment railway junction.

A senior official of NHAI (Ambala) said, “ Though the route patrolling teams of the NHAI had already been removing these encroachments, it has been decided that the crackdown would be intensified. We are coordinating with the district administration, and will write to the police to start challaning defaulters. If the encroachers still return, legal action will be initiated. Signboards have been installed to make people aware of this illegal practice and the dangers of stopping at these vends.”