Ghaziabad residents might soon find city streets rid of encroachments like street vendors, kiosks and other makeshift structures. Dedicated vending zones for various pockets of the city were decided in a joint meeting yesterday between the district administration, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation and Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).
Areas earmarked by the GDA include five vending zones.
“The zones in Indirapuram include an open plot near Shanti Gopal Hospital in Ahinsa Khand I; a plot near Indirapuram sewage treatment plant and another in Shakti Khand IV. There are two other zones which include areas near the Big Bazaar in Kaushambi and Sector 4 in Vaishali,” said Hira Lal Singh, executive engineer of GDA.
Singh maintained that another zone, which was earlier proposed in the green belt near Shipra Rivera society in Indirapuram, has been cancelled.
Areas earmarked by the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation include Priyadarshani Park in Mohan Nagar, Dundaheda in Vijaynagar, near NH 24 in Vijay Nagar, and Raj Nagar Extension.
“All the zones will be supervised by the municipal corporation, and will be operated on the public-private-partnership (PPP) model. Tenders for operating these zones will be floated soon. The areas will be under the administration of the town-vending committee and slots will be allotted by the committee,” said CP Singh municipal commissioner of Ghaziabad.
Officials maintained that these zones will cater to both regular vendors and the vendors who set up shop during weekly markets.
Residents have most certainly welcomed the decision.
Speaking to City Spidey, Alok Kumar president of Federation of Apartment Owners Association, and a resident of Indirapuram, said, “If the measure is successfully implemented, it will change the face of the city. We have been waiting for such an initiative for a long time. It will remove encroachment and traffic problems; make it easier to identify and organise street vendors and also give them a fixed place to carry on business.”
