nagpur the neatlylaid pavements on mount road gaddigodam in sadar are vanishing and thats a big concern all the arcades footpaths and even parts of carriageway seem like a thing of the past this part of the city could soon lose its footpaths fear many residents and commuters they blamed automobile shops eateries and mechanics for the encroachments as part of the where is my footpath series toi visited sadar area and found that despite having sufficiently wide roads traffic congestion is a routine thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of both nmc and traffic police towards increasing encroachment by shopkeepers especially spare parts dealers automobile repair shops and eateries on either sides of residency road mount road link road and gaddigodam a case in point is the 300metre mount road stretch from liberty square to lic road tpoint thanks to the 20 automobile spare parts shops that have come up on liberty square to kamptee road tpoint and from residency road square to gaddigodam square on mount road the traffic police have designated parking slots on both sides of the road one side of the patch is marked for twowheelers while the other is meant for fourwheelers but the space allocated for fourwheelers is bang opposite the 20 shops dealing with automobile spare parts these shopkeepers have not only encroached upon the arcade footpaths but have also occupied a major portion of road to park customers vehicles though these shop owners have large space in various complexes they still have occupied the busy road and just refuse to budge said jubil thomas a resident of sadar there are many such vehicle owners who have encountered similar experience while driving and parking on mount road this stretch is a vital link between the kamptee and sadar roads however the purpose of the road stands defeated with wayside automobile workshops encroaching upon the road to narrow down the space thus affecting smooth flow of traffic even during afternoons the situation quite often turns ugly as mechanics repair cars right on the carriageway regardless of the flow of traffic pointed out another resident sanjay bhalerao residents say police tow vehicles and never take action against automobile repair shops as they have encroached upon the footpaths pedestrians too are forced to walk on the road more than the repair work what scares the residents are the test drives taken after the repair jobs the traffic police deputed at the square pay no heed to the chaos on this stretch residents and a citybased ngo parivartan the citizens forum had filed a complaint with the traffic police and nmc seeking help on the issue but nothing has changed similarly the link road that connects residency road with gaddigodam square has become chaotic unable to stand up against a group of automobile spare parts shop owners and mechanics a private contractor had to shut down nagpur municipal corporations payandpark scheme on link road toi spotted a major portion on both sides and pavements along the link