Record stalls choke market corridors, parking lots in Chandigarh

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 11

With the Municipal Corporation allotting the highest number of stalls ahead of Diwali, it has spelled chaos in markets and parking lots, causing inconvenience to visitors.

Though stalls are supposed to be put up in vacant space between corridors and parking lots, shopkeepers and vendors have encroached upon almost every area they found free.

Revenue soars

• This year, about 25 per cent more stalls had been allotted in the city, said a senior MC official. Against 1,200-1,300 stalls in previous years, close to 1,500 stalls have been allotted this year.
• The civic body has collected a whopping Rs30-lakh revenue, the highest ever. Normally, it is around Rs23 lakh-Rs24 lakh.
• Giving reasons for raising the number of stalls, MC officials said there were no cracker stalls this time and markets had recently opened with all lockdown restrictions removed.

During a random check in the city, stalls were found put up in the sector 19, 22, 32 and 23 markets. These stalls left little space for parking. Some visitors were forced to park on roads outside or parking lot passage. This led to haphazard parking and inconvenience to people.

The situation inside markets is no different. “I had gone to the markets in Sector 27 and 19. Stall owners had encroached upon all corridors and pathways. There must be some fixed number of stalls and space should be allotted for the purpose,” said Amit Kaushik, a banker.

“In the space of one permitted stall, six vendors are doing business,” said RK Garg, president, Second Innings Association.

MC Joint Commissioner Sorabh Arora said, “We are getting major encroachments cleared from undesignated areas as we come to know about them.”

MC officials said next year, they would work on rationalising the number of stalls. In Sector 19 alone, 460 stall were permitted. All stalls are given permission for three or seven days on a per day rent.