Ranchi, June 1: Rickshaws have been asked to stay off the Main Road during the rush hours by the civic body, which today decided upon a bouquet of measures to improve upon the look of Ranchi and also ease the traffic situation of the capital.

The hour-long meeting, convened by urban development minister Raghubar Das along with officials of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC), Ranchi Regional Development Authority (RRDA) and the district administration, discussed among other things rehabilitation of shop owners, increasing traffic space on roads and building shopping malls.

?I have asked the officials to search for more parking space on the Main Road so congestion is removed. They have been given a time of 15 days to do a survey. Connecting lanes and bylanes will be widened so that pressure on the Main Road is eased. Rickshaws were a matter of concern as they cause traffic jam and so we have decided to restrict their entry into the arterial road of the city during the peak hours. Officials have been asked to enforce the ban at the earliest,? said Das, elucidating the plans.

Footpaths will also be constructed along the Main Road starting from Albert Ekka Chowk to the Overbridge, he added.

A modern shopping complex is also being planned on the land where the Daily Market police station now stands. An agreement had already been firmed up for the purpose, it was informed.

?We have also decided to rehabilitate 451 shopkeepers on the stretch from Hotel Ranchi Ashoka to the state consumer forum office, Doranda. Their shops were removed under the anti-encroachment drive carried out by the administration a few days ago. We have already rehabilitated 185 such shopkeepers at the Jaipal Singh Stadium,? the minister pointed out.

There is also a proposal to build a ?Janta Market?, which will house small shops selling day-to-day wares.

Das said he had been informed that a land, measuring 10 lakh sq ft, at Doranda could be used for Janta Market. He also added that the vegetable vendors would be given shops with proper sheds. ?Nobody will be allowed to sell vegetables on the open road, as is the practice at present,? he added.

Another decision was to shift the footbridge near the Church Complex, which is hardly ever used, to some other place.

Hoardings also came under fire for the dangers they posed to the driver and the spoiler they played in keeping the city beautiful. The billboards will now be allowed only on the highway.

In another measure to give the city a clean look and make it safer, BSNL and JSEB would be asked to keep their wires underground and remove the poles.