Ramechhap’s Manthali Municipality has started penalising street vendors and shop owners encroaching upon the city’s footpaths. The municipality started taking action on Friday after repeated calls to clear up roadside spaces went unheeded, municipality officials said.

Prior to this, the municipality office had requested shop owners not to place any goods for sale in public spaces.

Mayor Ramesh Kumar Basnet said he had personally requested the owners to stop encroaching upon public space for it has created obstacles for pedestrians and vehicles.

On Wednesday, Basnet and Manthali city’s Ward Chair Narayan Das Shrestha visited every shop in the city and requested the owners to stop encroaching public space. The same call was made by the city police as well.

As the calls went unheeded until Friday, the municipality, in coordination with the city police, confiscated goods that were placed in public spaces. The seized goods—including footwear, cosmetics, ration, utensils, mattresses and quilts, clothes, and furniture, among others—were stored in the city police’s van.

Mayor Basnet said the encroachment led to shrinking of the city footpaths, inconveniencing pedestrians and causing road accidents.

“It’s not just the municipality’s duty to keep the city clean and civil; the onus is on the people too,” said Basnet. “After our repeated calls went unheeded, we started launching strict measures to punish those who breached policies.”

Ramechhap District Police said it will return the seized goods.