Might is right: Squatters force pedestrians to abandon pavements on Station Road and (below) Kadamkuan in Patna. Pictures by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Sept. 2: Ubiquitous vending stalls and makeshift cloth shops that have sprung up on both sides of busy roads in the heart of the state capital have proven beyond doubt that neither the encroachers nor the authorities concerned have any respect whatsoever for the Patna High Court’s anti-encroachment order.

The high court had ordered the civic authorities to free the roads from the encroachers in the first week of May. The district administration, police and Patna Municipal Corporation had carried out anti-encroachment drives at a number of places in the city between May 7 and May 10 this year.

However, a visitor to the busy Railway Station Road, Hathuwa Market, Boring Road and Bailey Road would be hard pressed to find free space to walk. Many pedestrians are forced to jaywalk as squatters occupy the pavements. This in turn leads to traffic snarls.

Taking umbrage over the illegal shops, the high court on July 13 expressed its displeasure over the manner in which the authorities were dealing with its order. The court re-directed the Patna senior superintendent of police to remove the illegal establishments from the streets and ensure smooth traffic movement.

But as the court is yet to fix the next date of hearing in the case, the officials concerned have virtually forgotten the plight of the commuters. A source said it takes hours and a fair amount of skill to negotiate through the three-wheelers, thelas (carts) and makeshift shops of fruits, juices, clothes, chappals and shoes.

Asked about the encroachers, the deputy inspector-general (DIG) of Patna range, Vineet Vinayak, said: “We have a monitoring mechanism in place to check the encroachments in and around Patna. We are using the mechanism to ensure smooth movement and convenience of citizens. But the mechanism is hardly visible to the passers-by on these stretches.”

Sources said that a deputy superintendent of police and a magistrate recently submitted a report on the encroachment issue in the areas in question to the DIG. Vinayak, on the basis of the duo’s report, has asked the station house officers (SHOs) of the police stations concerned to clarify how the illegal shops have come up in their area after the encroachment drives.

An SHO concerned, on the condition of the anonymity, said the officers of the police station had been keeping a strict vigil and had removed all the encroachments in the area. “We have been taking strict action against the vendors,” he said.

Commuters and pedestrians, however, alleged that the police station and traffic cops openly collect bribe from autorickshaw drivers, vegetable vendors and makeshift stall owners.

On May 3, a division bench comprising justices P.C. Verma and A.K. Trivedi, during a hearing on a PIL filed by one Barun Kumar Sharma and others, had condemned the encroachment menace in the state capital issued strong orders remove them.

“The authorities have just made a mockery of the court’s order. It will be hard for the officials responsible to remove the encroachment to avoid contempt proceedings from the court once it fixes the date and hears the case again,” said a high court lawyer.