Lucknow : A Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court has taken a tough stand on the illegal weekly vegetable market being held near the Nigam Tiraha and Arjun triangle park in sector-1, Jankipuram.Expressing displeasure with the working style of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC), the court said that action was taken against similar illegal weekly markets held in Indiranagar and on Sultanpur road and the hawkers were given alternative locations. Similarly, effective action should be taken in this case also within a month and a compliance report should be submitted before it by May 25.A bench of Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi passed the order on a writ petition filed by Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Sanjana Mittal, Nitin Kumar and others.The petitioners stated that the market being held every Wednesday and Saturday on the 60-ft-wide main road causes heavy traffic jams, filth and serious transportation difficulties for local residents. The petitioners demanded that the weekly market be relocated .In the course of hearing, LMC admitted in its response that a market is held at the location and that the presence of street vendors on the road disrupts traffic. However, the LMC also stated that a portion of the road remains vacant, allowing people to walk through it.Strongly objecting to this explanation of LMC , the bench said that it is the LMC’s responsibility to ensure that public roads are not encroached upon. The bench added that the LMC collects taxes but remains indifferent to solving the problems of the citizens.The bench directed the LMC to take concrete steps to remove the market or ensure alternative arrangements within one month. It also directed LMC o seek assistance of the district magistrate and the police commissioner, if necessary.
