Nepalgunj footpaths are occupied by street vendors
The footpath at Ganeshpur in Ward No. 5 of the sub metropolis is always occupied by street vendors, leaving little room for pedestrians to walk on. The city police monitor the footpath on Wednesday. Madhu Shahi/TKP
Sunita Chaudhary, a resident of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City Ward No. 5, quickly removed the hoarding board of her beauty parlour from the footpath after seeing the city police making their rounds on Wednesday. The vehicles passed by and Chaudhary immediately placed the hoarding board back on the footpath. This has become routine for Chaudhary, who has been using the footpath to run her business.
"The police seize the goods from roadside vendors if they are caught but the vendors get their goods back after paying fines and continue keeping their shops on the footpath," said Saroj Gupta, a local.
The footpath at Ganeshpur in Ward No. 5 of the sub metropolis is always occupied by street vendors, leaving little room for pedestrians to walk on.
"The footpath is for pedestrians, but street vendors take over and congest the space," said Inspector Surya Bogati of Nepalgunj City Police.
According to Bogati, a variety of businesses—from tea shops to motorbike repair shops—operate from the footpaths in Ganeshpur.
"We have time and again told the street vendors to clear the footpath," said Hari Pyakurel, the chief administrative officer of the sub-metropolis. "But they never listen to us. This has become a perennial problem in the sub-metropolis.”
Children, elderly, visually impaired and people with disabilities are the most affected by the congested footpaths, said Pyakurel.
Amia Seikh, a resident of the sub-metropolis, was hit by a motorbike a year ago when he was walking on the road for a lack of space on the footpath.
"There was no space to walk on the footpath so I had to use the road," said Sheikh. “I was hit by a bike and I broke my arm.”
Kabita Khadka, who is visually impaired, said her daily commute was difficult because of the occupied footpaths.
"Parked vehicles, cycle repairing shops and shops selling utensils and clothes occupy the footpath leaving no room for pedestrians to walk," said Khadka. "This has increased the risk of accidents. I have lost my footing on the footpath many times since it’s so difficult to navigate my way through.”
Pabindra Bahadur Bam, the head of District Traffic Office in Banke, said road accidents would lessen if the footpaths in the sub-metropolis are cleared out.
"The footpaths along the main highway of the district are manageable, but the footpaths in the inner part of the city like Tribhuvan Chok, BP Chok, Ganeshman Chok, Setu BK Chok, Eklauni and Sadarline are always filled with vendors," Bam said.
Bam said the sub metropolis has not issued strict directives against street vendors but his office has instructed the traffic police to raise awareness among the vendors on traffic safety.
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