Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) law enforcement department carried out an anti-encroachment operation at the Cotton Market on Friday and raided around 35 stores.
The drive was carried out by the Dhantoli zone anti-intrusion squad led by Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kiran Bagde. Apart from illegal extensions of wholesale potatoes and onion platforms, the squad has also razed illegal extensions of poan and snack shops.
After the news of NMC’s drive spread, wholesale vendors arrived and tried to prevent the squad from razing illegal extensions. They also urged Bagde to stop driving, but the Assistant Commissioner refused to quote municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.
one of the shopkeepers expressed anguish at NMC during the locking process. “Mundhe had already closed the market because of COVID-19. The anti-intrusion drive is like adding insult to injury, “he said.
Citing overcrowding in the midst of coronavirus scare, Mundhe closed the market on 30 March. Later, the shopkeepers met the civic chief who rejected their request.
