Lajpat Nagar central market has earned for itself the reputation of being one of the iconic markets in the city due to variety it offers. People from across north India visit it for their shopping needs. However, over time, the market has also become notorious for being severely congested. One can hardly take a free stroll and taking a four-wheeler there is no less than a nightmare.
The footpaths are covered with vendors, hawkers encroach upon the roads and whatever space is left gets sacrificed to parking.
Various attempts of clearing encroachment and haphazard parking have been made but in vain. Shopkeepers said that within minutes of anti-encroachment exercise, the hawkers simply return and set up shop again.
“All the footpaths have become marketplace for illegal hawkers. The encroachment is such that people face much hassle in getting inside of our shops. We also face much difficulty in pulling up and down the shutters. Besides, it’s a threat to law and order as well,” said Ranjeet Pawha, who runs a cloth showroom in the market.
“The MCD officials regularly conduct drives to ensure that the squatters are removed from this area. Despite the, we face the menace of the illegal encroachers, day in and day out,” he added. Seeing no resolution of the issues, the traders have threatened to go on an indefinite strike. They alleged that a racket is being run in connivance with the police and the hawkers’ union.
“Our market is categorized as non-squatting/non-hawking zone. Despite our request for removal of squatters and hawkers falls on deaf ears even though the activities being illegal and continuous security threat to the market. These vendors and hawkers have not only encroached upon the public spaces in the market, but also violated the fundamental rights of the people causing disturbance and disruption in the market. At any given point of time, the number of hawkers on the road exceed the number of people who come to shop. There is no space to even walk,” said Kuldeep Kumar, president, Lajpat Nagar Market Association.
“The shopkeepers who are the owners or tenants are being harassed continuously. Police protects these hawkers who have illegally occupied spaces and objects upon putting up a wall outside the shutter which basically serves the purpose of cooling the customer before they enter the shops or remain outside,” he added.
