Chaos and congestion prevails throughout the town’s most important markets as unlawful encroachments proceed to play spoilsport for festive pleasure amongst residents.

Shop homeowners and hawkers placing up stalls on the highway at purchasing facilities which might be already scuffling with crowds amid a dearth of correct parking area has led to the town witnessing visitors snarls throughout peak hours.

The markets at Clock Tower, Jawahar Camp, Field Ganj, Ghumar mandi and Model Town, all of which witness a heavy footfall from the town and neighboring areas might be seen choked with automobiles — particularly throughout the night as plenty of store homeowners have put up stalls to draw prospects.

Vehicles parked on the roadside don’t permit for clean motion of visitors, leading to bottlenecks.

Speaking of the issues being confronted by guests, Surjeet Singh of Koocha Mohalla, saying, “Sometimes it takes me over 15 minutes to cross even a small stretch at Jawahar Camp market while returning home from work in the evenings.”

Residents rue the lack of pleasure and pleasure of festive purchasing, with Vishal Sharma, a resident of Tagore Nagar purchasing on the Model Town market, saying, “Even on a two-wheeler, it is hard to make your way through the market as one lane is completely occupied by stalls. Shopping is no longer joyful, but rather cumbersome”

The expertise is not any higher for store homeowners, with a number of proudly owning enterprise on the metropolis’s Chaura Bazar saying the encroachments-induced congestion has led to a drop in footfall at their retailers.

Kuldeep Mehta, who owns a clothes store on the market, mentioned, “My shop is at the corner of the road, which remains clogged with vehicles till the evening. Other shopkeepers have installed stalls outside their shops to attract the customers. which has affected my business.”

Satinder Singh, who owns a grocery retailer on the Field Ganj market, in the meantime, mentioned “A lot of vehicles get damaged after getting hit during the jams. Sometimes, pedestrians also get hit by vehicles as there is no space on the road.”

Jaskirat Arora, a shopkeeper at the Chaura Bazar, sees no end to the problems, saying, “We have made several complaints to the municipal authorities and traffic police to remove the vends who are occupying the road illegally. But even after the administration’s action, the vends pop again.”

Municipal corporation Secretary-cum-in-charge of tehbazari wing TS Panchhi, meanwhile, said, “We are holding a examine on the areas the place the encroachments have propped up. Soon, we are going to make bulletins warning of strict motion towards offenders.”

Joint commissioner of police (JCP, visitors) Gurdial Singh, added, “Orders have been already given to the officer-in-charge of the zones to keep a check on the encroachments. We will also convey to market associations against putting up stalls on roads.”