Anti-encroachment drive begins

The shopkeepers of Red Cross market protested against this drive when some employees of Municipal Council allegedly took away bundles of clothes from some of the shops. The agitated shopkeepers immediately shut down their establishments and sat on dharna at the Court Chowk and also blocked vehicular traffic for about half an hour.

The police swung into action and dispersed the agitated shopkeepers with a mild force and the shopkeepers lifted the dharna.

Bhupinder Singh Walia, president Kapurthala Beopar Mandal, alleged that police misbehaved with the agitated shopkeepers and the municipal staff forcibly lifted valuable articles from inside the shops in the Red Cross market. He further alleged that even the rehriwalas were not spared and the employees freely looted their fruits and vegetables. The irate shopkeepers again staged a dharna in the Red Cross market.

DC Usha Sharma told media persons after supervising drive, that traffic police challaned more than 500 persons for not wearing helmets and for black filming of vehicles during this week. She disclosed that two special teams consisting of magistrate, DSP, one official of Public welfare Department and Municipal Council had been constituted for the removal of encroachments on the roads. She said that drive would continue till the removal of all encroachments and administration would review its progress daily.