Finally the MC is ready with its massive anti-encroachment drive which will kick off on Thursday. The corporation has made adequate security arrangements to ensure that the drive, which will start from Mall Road, goes on unhindered.

Interestingly, the shopkeepers and the residents are playing it cool as as they have yet not taken any step to remove encroachments on their own. Yesterday, MC officials had visited the Mall Road, College Road, Ghumar Mandi and Ferozepur road areas and apprised the shopkeepers about the encroachments they had made and which needed to removed.

Meanwhile, the shopkeepers of Ferozepur Road and Ghumar Mandi have assured that they will remove their encroachments on their own. Harish Rai Dhanda, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, on Thursday, arranged a meeting of the shopkeepers with the commissioner, AK Sinha.

Meanwhile, temporary encroachments — rehris and pherris — were also removed from the inner city by the Tehbazari branch today.

Apart from this, a delegation of Residents and Market Association of Sarabha Nagar, block-I, also met the MC Commissioner on Wednesday and apprised him about the encroachment in their area and misuse of the parking area by the car-repair workshops. They pleaded with the MC Commissioner to bring their area under demolition drive.