35 encroachers evicted from Ooty footpaths

Udhagamandalam: The Ooty municipality on Friday removed 35 temporary shops that encroached on the footpaths on the Garden Road in the town. According to Ooty town planning inspector Mahendran Kumar, “We have evicted 35 temporary shops from both sides of the road.

They included some abandoned shops. Two larger units remain, but we expect to remove them in the next couple of days.

” Owners of several fruit shops located in front of the Government Botanical Garden have been asked to remove their temporary setups from the roadway within a day. “Street vendors are permitted to operate their mobile vehicles, but they must take them away at night and not leave them on the road or footpaths.

They cannot set up permanent units,” Mahendran said.He indicated that the eviction of illegal shops and encroachments on footpaths and roads in other areas of the town would take place in the coming weeks. The most encroached areas identified include Ettien’s Road, Commercial Road, Walsham Road and the vicinity of the Clock Tower. Additionally, some residential buildings in certain areas have encroached upon roads, making them narrower.Municipal officials noted that the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had delayed the eviction operation by at least three weeks.