A bulldozer brings down portions of a showroom along Janpath on Tuesday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 2: Officials of the development authority and the corporation conducted an eviction drive along the left side of Janpath between Vani Vihar and Rajmahal Square to clear the service roads and the footpaths of encroachment.

The drive aimed to streamline the on-street parking as proposed by the civic body commissioner-cum-development authority vice-chairman Krishan Kumar and police commissioner R.P. Sharma. The first pilot project will be taken up on Janpath to provide parking space for nearly 600 cars.

The squad brought down over 50 makeshift shops, shanties and around 10 illegally extended portions of permanent structures. The drive continued till the evening and would continue tomorrow.

Sharma and Kumar conducted a field inspection of the on-street parking facilities and problems on Janpath this morning. Kumar instructed the enforcement wings of the civic authorities to get rid of the encroachments on service roads and footpaths.

The on-street parking has started after the London visit of Kumar and Sharma. They studied the parking system in London in the third week of November. Today’s action is the first step towards implementing the system in the city.

Kumar said: “Cities such as New Delhi have started such parking system. We have started it here on pilot basis, and our first priority is to clear the encroachments and create space.”

Small-time traders used to squat on the service roads along Janpath by setting up their makeshift shops, while other traders and showroom-owners encroached on this space by parking their vehicles. Such a practice left no space for those coming to these establishments to park their vehicles, and it resulted in parking on the footpaths. Subsequently, the pedestrians became the ultimate sufferers.

The Janpath stretch (Vani Vihar to Sishu Bhavan Square) has been divided into several zones for on-street parking with a maximum capacity of around 500 vehicles. After the eviction drive, various lots with different colours and markings will be created for four-wheelers, three-wheelers and two-wheelers.

The small-time traders, however, said that only their shops had been demolished while many big business houses near Master Canteen Square encroached on major portion of such spaces and created traffic jam. “The authorities are only targeting poor people, while rich traders remain the major violators,” said shopkeeper Raju Sahu.