Ambala, May 7:- The Municipal Council team used a JCB to demolish 22 kiosks (khokhas) built by people along the 12 Cross Road drain near Sewa Samiti School in Ambala Cantt. These kiosks were set up about 6 months ago. The kiosk owners strongly protested the Council's action. They claimed they had spent 100,000 rupees each to build these kiosks to earn their livelihood, but the Municipal Council, without serving any notice, demolished them and left them back on the streets. The owners alleged that officials did not even allow them to remove fans, tandoors, utensils, and other belongings from the kiosks. A heavy police force remained present throughout the operation.
The kiosk operators were in great anger. They stated that they had built these kiosks by saving every penny, and some had even taken loans. They questioned where the Council officials were 6 months ago when the kiosks were being constructed. Now that their businesses had started running, the Council’s "lightning" has struck, making them unemployed again and making it difficult to support their families. Neither official information nor any alternative was provided by the administration before the action. They were hopeful that, like other shops, the Council would start collecting Tehbazari (occupation fee) from them.
In this regard, Davinder Narwal, Executive Officer (EO) of Municipal Council Ambala Sadar, stated that the kiosks were placed on a government drain without any permission or approval, which could have obstructed the flow of water during the monsoon and caused flooding in the city. He mentioned that the operators were warned previously, but they did not take it seriously. Narwal said that a complaint regarding the encroachment on the drain was received, and the encroachments were removed following the rules.
During the action, the kiosk operators called opposition leader Chitra Sarwara to the spot. Subsequently, Chitra Sarwara arrived with her team to assess the damage and the situation. Chitra questioned who is responsible for the loss of these poor shopkeepers—the administration, which citing the law used the bulldozer without notice, or local Minister Anil Vij, who repeatedly gave false assurances to these shopkeepers that no action would be taken and allowed them to set up shops? Just a day before today's action, they had met Minister Anil Vij, where they were assured that no action would be taken against the existing shopkeepers.
Opposition leader Chitra Sarwara said that if Minister Anil Vij had assured them that shops could be built and no one would remove them, then is he not responsible? Should he not stand with the people? Should these poor people not be given compensation?
Following this, Team Chitra reached the Municipal Council office and met the Executive Officer to seek a clarification on the entire incident. The officials cited administrative laws and requested a written representation to be submitted to the government. Chitra Sarwara said that this incident highlights the growing gap between administrative decisions and ground reality, where the common man, stuck between assurances and reality, is still waiting for justice.