Nagpur civic body razes illegal sheds on Godhani Road at night after woman dies in tipper accident

Ashwini Phalke, a young mother, died in an accident on Godhani Road in Nagpur on Tuesday evening. She had gone out for festival shopping and was caught under a tipper truck. The incident has brought back the issue of encroachments on the road, about which residents have been complaining for years.

Within hours of the accident, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) launched an anti-encroachment drive at night. The civic body was said to be unhappy that the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) was not taking action. Between 8.30 pm and 11.15 pm, the NMC's enforcement squad used JCB machines to demolish illegal commercial extensions and sheds on the road, which falls under the Mankapur police station limits. The road is 18 metres wide and is a main traffic route.

NMC Assistant Commissioner (Enforcement) Sanjay Kamble acknowledged that encroachments had made Godhani Road very narrow. It is marked out as an 18-metre road with a median in the middle. However, owners are alleged to have opened shops on the ground floor and put up sheds without permission on the space meant for mandatory parking. As a result, customers park their vehicles directly on the main road. Moving traffic is forced through a narrow stretch, and pedestrians end up close to speeding and heavy vehicles.

In the night's action, the squad demolished seven to eight illegal sheds. These included a large 600-square-foot structure built entirely on parking space. Shopkeepers are said to have resisted the action strongly.

Kamble said the demolition drive had been planned to resume on Wednesday. But as the road comes under the NIT, coordination with that body is necessary. He was also said to have said that, to avoid a law-and-order problem, the Mankapur police have asked for a day's time for shopkeepers to remove the encroachments themselves.

The problem of such encroachments is not limited to Godhani Road. In Sitabuldi, Jaripatka, Dharampeth, Zingabai Takli, Gandhibagh and Itwari too, shopkeepers freely use footpaths, parking space and parts of the road. Pedestrians have to step onto the road to walk, and motorists have to squeeze through narrow gaps.

The question now being raised is whether, after Ashwini Phalke's death, action will at least be taken consistently across the city. People are also asking why no action was taken earlier, when the encroachments were visible, parking space was occupied and the road had narrowed.