Cuttack, Dec. 9: A joint enforcement squad consisting of police, personnel of the municipal corporation, development authority and the electricity department today resumed operations to clear encroachments in bottlenecks that clog vehicular movement across the city.
The squad, in its first major drive in the past four months, cleared encroachments on a 4-km-stretch between Jobra and Ranihat.
The drive to clear roadside encroachments, including temporary kiosks and other obstructions, at important traffic junctions and streets had been suspended during the festive season beginning with Dussehra.
The joint squad razed more than 25 temporary kiosks that had come up by encroaching public road at Jobra, College Square and Ranihat.
"Nearly 72 cases of illegal encroachment, including 29 by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, 38 by the police and five by the transport department, were registered and a fine of Rs 59,000 was collected from the violators," said P.K. Dalai, assistant commissioner of police (traffic).
Senior municipal corporation officials said a bulk of the kiosks had come up near Jobra, while a lot of traders had also illegally extended their shops near the dedicated fish market complex.
The encroachments obstructed the flow of traffic and caused frequent congestion on the busy stretch that connects Jobra with Ranihat and Station Road via College Square, creating problems for commuters.
"The encroachments forced people coming to the daily market at Jobra to park their vehicles illegally on the roadside. With the encroachments being cleared, we hope that the problem would be resolved," said regular commuter Pravat Sinha.
Official sources said the joint squad has been formed to undertake similar drives to clear roadside encroachments causing severe public inconvenience on a weekly basis.
The commuters, on the other hand, alleged that a complete check on encroachments covering unauthorised vending zones, illegal parking and blockade of drainage channels had not been possible despite similar drives in the past.
