In order to ensure smooth traffic and encroachment-free footpaths, the Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) on Monday in association with the Traffic department launched its pre-Puja eviction drive to clear roads and footpaths from encroachment.

On Monday morning, big teams of  AMC task forces and other law enforcing authorities including the Traffic department  started their eviction drive  to clear several areas of the city from encroachers, especially from the mushrooming footpath hawkers, who had occupied vast areas of city footpaths for decades.

The Netaji road, the busiest road of the city has now made the street encroachment free. The city roads like Netaji road, major part of HGB road and vast areas of Hawkers Corner market, Post-Office Choumohani have also been cleared from encroachment of illegal footpath hawkers, which has made ways for smooth movements of city dwellers through footpaths.

From Monday AMC massive cleaning drives in major parts of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) areas has started as part of pre-puja cleaning and eviction drive  to respite the city dwellers  from congested footpath and frequent flood like situation after heavy rain falls and to prepare the city –a total clean before the ensuing festivities of Durga Puja.

AMC ‘s  Assistant commissioner (Central Zone) Pranoy Das said that after monitoring the ground works of city’s cleaning activities and complaints over encroachment of footpaths by unauthorized vendors, on Monday  the AMC has started massive eviction drives along with cleaning of drains, markets, water bodies and residential areas. All the municipal officials have deployed on the ground to supervise the eviction and cleaning drives and to complete all works before Durga Puja.

He said that apart from eviction drives, the AMC teams have also launched drives against single-used plastic carry bags and seized large quantities from vendors.

AMC officials said that encroachment drive is regular duty of AMC and Corporation will not allow any unauthorized vendors or hawkers to set up their makeshift stall in any part of the city, which creates hindrance on city traffic. They said that no hawker will be allowed to sell their products on roads and if notified, AMC will take necessary action at the earliest. The AMC and traffic teams have also all garments stall in the newly constructed cover-drains and have also seized garments.

However, AMC Police Task Force is now seen moving on the main roads to check encroachments on roads, drains and footpaths and AMC to continue its encroachment removal drive relentlessly in all areas.

It may be recalled here that during massive construction drives of covered drains, the city dwellers are now daily witnessing massive traffic jams in every nook and corner of the city and the suffering has increased at its manifold due to unauthorized stalls by footpath vendors.