Jammu, Sep 10: Around 20 shops were demolished by the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) at Satwari Chowk on Thursday, triggering strong resentment among affected shopkeepers, who alleged that the decades-old commercial establishments were razed without prior notice or adequate information.
According to the affected traders, the shops had been operating at the site for nearly 50 years, with the occupants claiming that they had been regularly paying monthly rent to the municipal authorities.
The shopkeepers alleged that they were not given sufficient time to remove their belongings or make alternative arrangements before the demolition drive was carried out.
The demolition comes amid the long-pending issue of rehabilitation of shopkeepers affected by development and road-widening works in the Satwari area. The UT Cabinet had earlier approved a rehabilitation and resettlement scheme for shopkeepers and open-space kiosk owners affected by road widening at Nai Basti and Satwari Chowk.
A JMC official, however, said that the affected shopkeepers would be relocated to another site within six months.
The assurance did little to pacify the traders, who termed the claim a “white lie”, arguing that similar assurances regarding rehabilitation had been given in the past but had failed to resolve their concerns over livelihood and relocation.
The rehabilitation issue has been raised repeatedly by traders’ bodies. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has previously stated that the affected shopkeepers had been paying rent to the municipal authorities and had sought alternate sites and proper rehabilitation.
The latest demolition has once again brought the long-standing dispute over rehabilitation of Satwari’s affected shopkeepers into focus.
