Gaya: The Gaya Municipal Corporation has relaunched its anti-encroachment drive, this time targeting repeat offenders with penalties and seizure of goods.The campaign began on K P Road and will soon extend to G B Road, Ramna Road, Tekari Road and Swarajpuri Road. K P Road, the city’s widest road, is also among its most heavily encroached. On the Kotwali-Kathokar Talab stretch, layers of encroachment on both sides have reduced a 70-80ft road to a chaotic corridor where even walking becomes difficult in the afternoon and evening.A similar drive was launched in Dec 2025 after the formation of the new NDA govt, but it quickly lost momentum. Confirming the fresh action, Gaya municipal commissioner Abhishek Palasia said repeat offenders were now facing stricter measures. “Besides imposing penalty, seizures too are being made,” he said.He added that road dividers had been removed at some points to ease traffic movement and that encroachers and footpath vendors had first been given an opportunity to clear the spaces voluntarily. However, some residents and activists said action against vendors alone would not solve the problem.They argued that local police personnel and municipal field staff should also face disciplinary action, alleging that such large-scale encroachment could not have continued without official connivance. Trade unionists, including Parasnath Singh, have long argued that illegal footpath vending is “a symptom and not the disease”.They say the root cause is the lack of livelihood opportunities and that, unless vendors are properly rehabilitated in designated vending zones, the problem will persist. Activist Nand Kishore Prasad said anti-encroachment drives usually target only temporary occupiers.“Action against people who have erected permanent structures, including shops and stairs on public land, are rarely touched,” he said.
