Pune: The civic body on Thursday held a drive against roadside encroachers in different parts of the city, confiscating their wares and makeshift stalls.Action took place against 300 vendors at various locations — including Hadapsar, Mundhwa, Sinhagad Road and Dhole Patil Road.“Encroachers were doing business illegally. They were flouting the rules and causing traffic congestion, etc,” said a senior official of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s anti-encroachment department.Officials filed a police complaint against encroachers who tried to disrupt civic action in the Hadapsar area.Meanwhile, residents have been demanding consistent and stringent action. In its absence, hawkers continue with illegal activities. “Unauthorised hawkers create a nuisance for locals and make mayhem on the roadsides leading to traffic issues. This could cause accidents, especially during peak hours when traffic movement is high,” said Ketki Paranjape of Sinhagad Road.PMC officials said the civic administration removes hawkers regularly and special drives are conducted in areas like FC Road, JM Road, Satara Road and Sinhagad Road. Temporary stalls on footpaths and hawkers operating without proper permissions are removed.“PMC has been warning street vendors to not operate illegally or encroach upon roads. Most continue irrespective and we acted against them,” said Sandip Khalate, head of PMC’s anti-encroachment department.A hawkers’ policy has been drafted for better management of roadside vendors. Options like assigning colour codes and logos to identify authorised hawkers are being explored under the policy. A biometric system has been introduced to cross-verify the authenticity of vendors and licences.In the last week of May, 2024, following the Kalyaninagar hit-and-run case, the civic administration undertook a drive against illegal constructions. Residents alleged that a section of encroachers resurfaced a few days later and remained.
