Nagpur: Squatters reclaimed footpaths near IT Park and VNIT within 24 hours of an anti-encroachment drive by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), exposing the civic body’s inability to sustain enforcement and prevent rapid reoccupation.The drive on Saturday, carried out following directives from Union minister Nitin Gadkari and mayor Neeta Thakre, saw officials remove food carts, stalls, and temporary structures, reiterating a zero-tolerance stance. However, a visit by TOI on Sunday afternoon found vendors back in full operation, with cooking setups, plastic seating, and crowds returning to the stretch.The IT Park–VNIT road has long functioned as an informal food hub, popular among students and professionals but also associated with traffic congestion, poor hygiene, and obstructed pedestrian movement.Such drives have repeatedly failed to deliver lasting results. Vendors typically shift carts to nearby residential pockets during enforcement and return once teams withdraw. Many operate multiple carts, allowing them to quickly replace seized units and resume business, making deterrence difficult.The pattern extends beyond IT Park. Similar cycles persist in areas such as Jaripatka, Itwari, Mahal, and Sadar, where encroachment drives offer only temporary relief. The absence of an effective regulatory framework has kept the issue unresolved.Proposals for designated hawker zones and organised marketplaces have remained largely on paper, while some have faced resistance from vendors unwilling to relocate.Despite renewed action following Gadkari’s push to keep footpaths free of encroachments, the ground reality continues to reflect a cycle of eviction and return.Mayor Thakre and assistant commissioner (encroachment) Harish Raut did not respond to TOI’s queries.
