The site following demolition of the encroachment on April 17, 2013 and (below) squatters back at the site. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 4: Encroachers are back with their temporary kiosks around the railway station barely five months after the civic body evicted them from the place.

Similar eviction drives conducted by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation in other areas, including Unit-I, Unit-II, Indradhanu Market, Baramunda and Janpath, also failed to serve the purpose.

On February 8, the civic body, along with officials of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority and police, had conducted an anti-encroachment drive between Janpath and Sishubhavan Square, one of the major roads in the city. However, the street vendors reclaimed the road after a few days of the demolition drive. Illegal encroachments on various streets and pavements have been causing traffic congestion in the city.

Officials in the corporation put the blame on lack of adequate manpower to carry out frequent eviction drives.

“The eviction squad consists of one officer, four aminas and 12 staff members. Though we have sufficient vehicles to carry out frequent drives, staff crunch remains a major problem,” said a civic body official.

Though the corporation is empowered to conduct eviction drives on its own, the city management group decides on major evictions. The group consists of officials from various government establishments, including the civic body and the development authority.

Urban experts, however, feel that lack of co-ordination among various government agencies is the reason behind encroachment of conservancy lanes and pavements. “The authorities must give ownership of any open space to the local community. If the authorities can ensure encroachment-free VIP areas, they must ensure that other streets and pavements, too, remain free from the squatters,” said an urban management practitioner, Piyush Rout.

A corporation official said their role was limited in removing the encroachments whenever necessary and not monitoring whether those places were re-occupied.

“On basis of the complaints by residents or the concerned department, we carry out eviction drives in places under our jurisdiction. But, it is the police’s duty to check the offenders and take action against them,” said a civic body official.