A first time visitor may be forgiven for thinking that Post Office and Challenge areas are major commercial centres in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

This is because the two places bustle under the throng of thousands of people everyday. Travelers, particularly from the Kwara South end usually alight at the spot, usually to board taxi cabs to their final destinations.

Before now, the areas were swarmed by destitute, lunatics and beggars. However, since the Kwara State government began to rid the state capital of destitute and beggars, that menace has disappeared.

But the new challenge that the government has to battle with now is indiscriminate display of wares on the walkways in the two areas. Some marketers have turned these walkways into shops, selling their wares on daily basis unchecked.

With the situation, pedestrians whom the pavement is meant to serve, now have difficult time passing-by. At Challenge, where items like footwears, clothing materials, belts, phone accessories and jewelries litter the walkway, pedestrians have to take caution while strolling on the pavement.

The same tale can be told of Post Office, where petty traders in roasted plantain and corn and groundnut and food vendors sell without being checked.

Some respondents have decried the indiscriminate display of wares in the areas and tasked the authorities to take measures towards reducing the menace to the barest minimum.

A respondent, Mr. Idowu Esan, queried the marketers, saying the attitude was unbecoming of them.

He said government must put in place appropriate sanction to serve as deterrent to others.

Another respondent, Idowu, urged government to enforce appropriate laws on the defaulters to ensure sanity on roads and walkways.

He said; "My advice is for government to enforce appropriate laws on the road setback so that the marketers who inhibit free movement on walkways can be dealt with accordingly.

"We have been saying this time without numbers that the attitude of marketers here is disgusting. You have difficulty passing. In fact, you have to be very careful while walking so that you will not fall to the other side".

Another passerby however appealed to government to make more shops available and affordable so that the affected marketers could secure theirs.

In a chat with City Rove yesterday, the Executive Secretary, Kwara State Town Planning Authority, Mr. Raimi Adeoti, advocated enlightenment campaign to sensitize members of the public on the hazards embedded in road side trading.

He, however, told City Rove that it was not the duty of his office to check those involved in the trading on walkways.