Silchar: The Silchar Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday intensified its anti-encroachment drive, evicting illegal stalls and vendors from key thoroughfares for the third day in a row in a push to reclaim public spaces and decongest the town’s overcrowded streets.Backed by a team of police personnel and enforcement officials, SMC teams launched a pre-dawn crackdown across several high-traffic areas including Sadarghat Road, Central Road, Premtola point, Shillong Patty, Park Road, the Court Compound area, and the stretch from Capital Point to the SMC headquarters.Using loudspeakers to urge vendors to vacate voluntarily, officials systematically dismantled makeshift stalls and carts that had taken over footpaths and spilled onto carriageways. Abandoned goods were also seized and carted away.“We are taking strict action to restore public order and ease pedestrian and vehicular movement. These encroachments were not only unauthorised but posed a serious safety risk, especially during peak hours,” an SMC spokesperson said.Locals largely welcomed the move. Several residents said footpaths had become impassable, forcing pedestrians to walk close to traffic. “It was a daily hazard. You couldn’t walk without stepping onto the road. This drive is long overdue,” said Ratan Deb, a commuter from Shillong Patty. The civic body, however, emphasised that the crackdown was not aimed at penalising vendors, but part of a larger urban management strategy.
