In Ghaziabad, these cycling tracks have space for everything but cyclists

Noida: Cycling tracks , one of the flagship projects of the previous government under Akhilesh Yadav, are lying in a shambles in Raj Nagar Extension. They have either been broken down at places, encroached upon by vendors or being used for parking of vehicles. The situation is worse in front of markets in the township.

Residents said the tracks are being used for all sorts of purposes except for cycling. A survey of the area revealed that the space meant for cyclists in front of a market near Aura Chimera society has completely been encroached upon by shops and vehicles. As an extension of their shops located in the market, eateries have put up stalls inside the barricaded area.

The situation is no different on the road where societies such as KW Shristi, Fortune Residency and VVIP Addresses are located. Here, several makeshift furniture, vehicle repair shops and food joints have come up on vacant plots.

A section of residents demands that these cycle tracks should be removed for their failure to serve the purpose. Gajendra Arya, president of the Federation of Apartment Owners’ Association of Raj Nagar Extension, said, “They are useless. We have raised the issue with the authorities and demanded that they be demolished and the road be widened. As a large chunk of the road is barricaded on both sides for the tracks, they serve as safe haven for encroachers.”

Residents said that in the absence of proper monitoring, encroachers do not pay much heed and start setting up shops on roadsides within a few days of being removed.

GDA secretary Santosh Kumar Rai said there was no plan to remove tracks from the area. “The Authority will not demolish them. People should use them for cycling. We have carried out anti-encroachment drives in the past, but it has been noticed that violators return to the same place after a few days. An instruction will be given to officials to remove encroachments once again,” he said.

Recently, GDA vice-chairperson Kanchan Verma had pulled up officials over rampant encroachments on both sides of roads in Raj Nagar Extension. Junior engineers were directed to take immediate action in this regard and ensure that the encroachers, mainly food and vegetable vendors, do not return, sources said.

Moreover, they were asked to prepare a list of people who have made permanent encroachments and initiate legal action against them under provisions of the Urban Planning and Development Act.