Roadside Encroachments Return to Janakpur Within Three Months

Janakpurdham. Three months ago, the Home Minister of Madhes Province, Fakira Mahato, himself actively worked to clear the main roadsides and footpaths within Janakpur city of encroachments. He aggressively confronted those doing business by occupying the roadsides and footpaths.

As the Home Minister himself became active in the field, some who had occupied the footpaths along the road vacated the areas themselves, while police became active in forcibly clearing others. As a result, areas around Janaki Temple, Hospital Road, Ramananda Chowk, Shiva Chowk, Janak Chowk, and Pidari Chowk became clean and organized, making it much easier for religious tourists, students, and the general public using these routes.

Janakpur is already a city infamous for its garbage. Due to the inability of the local government to manage waste properly, heaps of garbage are seen everywhere within the city. On one hand, garbage, and on the other hand, occupying the roadsides for business, forced pedestrians to use the main road, which also led to an increase in vehicle accidents.

Due to the encroachment of footpaths and roadsides, e-rickshaws could not be managed, leading to a dire situation for pedestrians and cyclists within the city. With the coordination of bodies such as Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City, the Chamber of Commerce, the District Police Office, and the Traffic Police Office, the Home Minister of the Province, Mahato, himself took to the field and succeeded in clearing the encroached areas.

Compared to the past, the arrival of Indian tourists at Janakpur's world-famous Janaki Temple has increased significantly. Thousands of devotees visit the temple daily. The roadside near the temple, having been cleared in the past, looked very attractive and was convenient for the devotees visiting the temple. However, within three months, the footpaths and roadsides of Janakpur have returned to their old ways.

The main road from Ramananda Chowk to Janaki Temple has Janakpur Provincial Hospital. Because it is a hospital, this road is always crowded. During the day, this section of the road is always jammed. 'After Home Minister Mahato himself became active and worked in the field, the condition of this road improved significantly,' said e-rickshaw driver Ramlal Paswan from Janakpur-13. 'Now the condition of this road has returned to its old state.'

According to Paswan, the inability to sustain the work that was improved after the Province's Home Minister himself became actively involved also raises questions about his own efficiency.

Currently, mainly Ramananda Chowk, Pidari Chowk, and Hospital Road have half of their roads covered by fruit and vegetable carts. This not only causes problems for those walking on the road but also increases traffic congestion.

On Hospital Road, dozens of four-wheeled carts are parked on both sides of the road from morning until 8-9 PM at night.

Sanjeev Karna of Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City-10, Devi Chowk, said, 'Does the Home Minister walk on this road now? Doesn't he need to pay attention to sustain the situation that had improved after he himself became active?'

A government employee met at Janakpur's Bhanu Chowk said that the weakest aspect of Madhes is its inability to sustain any work. 'Working as a stunt to show oneself as excellent, and then being unable to sustain it, is the main problem of Madhes,' he said. 'The state itself is more to blame than others for its inability to sustain work that has already been done once.'

Bablu Gupta, met at Janakpur Railway Station, said that while there are examples of new governments not continuing the work of the old government after a change in government, it is strange that the government cannot sustain its own decisions and work. 'The people sitting in the minister's secretariat should pay attention to monitoring and regulation,' he said.

Radheshankar Prasad Pal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Communication and Law of the Madhes Province government, told RatoPati, 'The Mayor of Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City did not cooperate with the minister's work. Due to constant non-cooperation, the work of road management has been obstructed.'

According to him, local levels should have cooperated in this work, but due to non-cooperation by showing various legal obstacles, the minister was unable to sustain it.

With the goal of developing Janakpur as a tourist city, the Madhes Province government and local levels have initiated various programs. Efforts are being made for the cleanliness and beautification of the city, with millions of budgets spent on it. However, local residents believe that the public is being wronged because the local and provincial governments, instead of coordinating on development, infrastructure, and public issues, are not cooperating with each other.