Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered intensifying anti-encroachment drive in Srinagar and other parts, observing that comfort of the general public has been made miserable by street vendors.
“Keeping in view the comfort of the general public which has been made miserable by the street vendors and other business establishments by encroaching upon the pavements and even road sides, antiencroachment drive has to be intensified, for so doing police assistance is must, therefore, we direct IGP Kashmir to make proper arrangement by providing police assistance from any source other than police stations so as to enable the anti-encroachment squad to remove all the encroachments,” said a division bench of Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Ali Mohammad Magrey.
Meanwhile, Srinagar Municipal Corporation submitted in 2014 a list of 2911 street vendors who were found to be conducting business in different parts of Srinagar city have been prepared.
In the first instance, the Corporation has developed five vending zones at SRTC-Partap Park, Khalisa School near Magarmal Bagh, Batamaloo, Sector-5, Batamaloo Bandar Khah and Hazuri Bagh behind Block A & B near Children Park.
Counsel for SMC said re-location of street vendors to the vending zones created or intended to be created was in process which requires assistance from the District Administration as well as police which will help to make these designated vending zones operational and will also help in removing their encroachments from pavements as well as from road sides.
“We direct the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir as well as IGP, Kashmir, to provide whatever assistance is required by the Municipal Corporation for shifting these vendors who are running their business on streets and even on roads, to the vending zones,” the court said and directed both the authorities to file respective compliance report by or before next date of hearing in the PIL.
