Jamshedpur: Unauthorised stalls and shop extensions have not just made Bistupur market congested, they are also posing a threat to pedestrians and squeezing parking space.

From mannequins and utensils to crates of fruits and packets of snacks - everything stands bang on the road, often leaving little or no room for people to walk around the marketplace. Parking a bike is a nightmare while doing the same for a car is out of question, courtesy pushcart vendors.

Captain (Dr) N.N. Jha, a resident of Kadma, recalled how even a year ago, he could park his car opposite Guru Nanak Stores. "Today, there is hardly any space. Shops or extensions of shops are mushrooming by the day," he said.

Sakchi resident D.K. Sahoo said he had never been able to drive through Mochi Line in Bistupur market, thanks to goods piled on the roadside. "I may have stopped driving by, but what happens if there is a fire mishap? Heaven knows how a fire tender will access ground zero," he observed.

Sahoo added that nowadays, he parked his car behind Bank of Baroda on N-Road and then walked to the market.

A spot visit on Monday revealed that 11 stray shops had cropped up in front of Guru Nanak Stores over the past few months. The owner of an adjoining confectionery store claimed they were losing customers because of this unabated encroachment.

"Former Dhalbhum SDO Suraj Kumar had provisionally accommodated these 11 shopkeepers who were basically footpath vendors. They were supposed to be rehabilitated, which never happened and now they occupy more space than they were granted," the confectioner said.

City manager of Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee Ranjan Pandey, who is in charge of marketplaces in Sakchi and Bistupur, among others, promised to conduct a survey and recommend necessary action against unauthorised shops.

"We shall also ensure that bona fide shops do not extend their businesses onto the road. Offenders will be taken to task," Pandey said.