Residents of Gandhi Nagar pointing running of open car bazars on public space near VLCC and Auqaf Market asserted that despite repeated complaints, the Jammu Municipal Corporation and allied enforcement agencies appear unwilling or unable to act against unauthorised open car bazaars.
“Selective enforcement has become the norm, where street vendors and small hawkers face sudden crackdowns while influential encroachers continue business uninterrupted”, says a resident of Green Belt Park, Gandhi Nagar.
Aggrieved citizens asserted that consequences extend beyond inconvenience. Blocked footpaths worsen traffic congestion, hinder emergency movement and add to visual clutter, eroding the very idea of a planned urban space, says Vijay, a shopkeeper of Mini Market, Green Belt Park.
Elderly citizens, children and persons with disabilities are the worst affected, as safe pedestrian access has virtually vanished in several localities, he added.
Meaningful citizens warn that unchecked commercial capture of public spaces is symptomatic of a deeper governance collapse.
Even as Jammu brands itself a “Smart City”, the brazen takeover of footpaths by car dealers and other influential encroachers exposes uncomfortable truths about lax enforcement, eroding accountability, and whose interests the city’s civic agencies are truly serving, says Prof. S. K. Bhalla
The Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation, could not be reached for comment on the matter. However, a JMC officer, preferring anonymity, said, “This is a well-entrenched nexus operating within the JMC jurisdiction. Whenever we plan action against them, information reaches the influential violators well in advance.”