Vendors out, Sec 17 Plaza a walkers’ paradise again

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

The Sector 17 Plaza has turned into a walkers’ paradise again. The footfall has started to increase a week after the vendors were shifted to Sector 15 from this no-vending zone.

An increased number of people can be seen enjoying a leisure walk these days in the ‘Heart of the City’.

“Sector 17 dons a very good look now and authorities can make it look more attractive. The step will draw more people here. We can take a long walk till the end. Earlier, crowd was not good and there used to be a lot of disturbance,” Maj DP Singh (retd), a visitor and president of the Sector 38 RWA, said.

Ramesh, who runs a shop in Mohali and has been regularly visiting the Plaza for the past 25 years, said, “For quite some time, I was not coming to Sector 17 as the place had turned into a rehri market. But, now it looks so beautiful. I have started frequenting this place again.”

“I was born and brought up in Chandigarh. I used to miss the days when I and my friend used to come to this place on a scooter every Saturday to enjoy different stage events here. I think those days are now coming back as Sector 17 seems to be turning to its original character,” Swaroop Singh, a resident of Sector 28, said.

“I work with an immigration company here. We come here for walk during our lunchtime. It’s fun and very relaxing to take a stroll here,” an employee said.

Sanjeev Chadha, a member of the Town Vending Committee and general secretary of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, said, “I have been noticing that frequent visitors are returning to Sector 17. Flower pots and decorative lights with open space to walk have brought the old glory of the sector back. With vendors gone, even shopkeepers have stopped encroaching corridors.”