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Hundreds of traders were Monday cleared from the Zongo Junction stretch of the main Legon-Adenta Highway as part of an exercise by the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly to decongest the area. A task force from the assembly, protected by the police, cleared the designated area of all traders, paving the way for smooth vehicular and human traffic. The exercise followed a notice served to the traders to quit the area by March 2, this year or face ejection since the area was not designated for trading. Until the eviction, major portions of the main road, including the median, had been taken over by traders who had very little regard for road users. As of last Saturday, March 2, the deadline for the business actitivities to end, there was very little indication that the traders would move since there was still brisk business during the day. When the Daily Graphic visited the area last Sunday evening, most of the stalls had been moved, while the wares that were usually left and covered with tarpaulin in the night had all been taken away by owners. This averted the seizure of goods or the destruction of property when members of the task force went to work in the early hours of yesterday, limiting their work to the burning down of the mess that had been left by the traders. The exercise was thus limited to the removal of container shops and kiosks, and wooden structures that were illegally sited or impeding the free flow of traffic. Some of the traders who were not sure the assembly would carry out the eviction were seen at the scene in the morning in groups discussing what was taking place but most of them refused to talk to the Daily Graphic. However, the Daily Graphic learnt that those who refused to take their wares away the night before had them seized and taken away by the task force. Further checks by this reporter also indicated that most of the market women had moved back into the main market but there were still many others who were hovering around the area. Mr Franklin Anku, the Municipal Chief Executive of the Assembly, told the Daily Graphic that with the place completely cleared, �it was going to remain the norm rather than the exception or a nine days� wonder� as most of the people were anticipating. �Everybody was given ample time to relocate. They had been educated about their illegal action, notified about the impending exercise but as it happens in most cases, most of them thought it was going to be just one of those things where there is a lot of talk but very little action. However, we want to let them know that we will not condone the acts of illegality and once we have got them off the area, it will be kept clear of such activities and we will ensure that sanity prevails in that area,� a spokesperson of the assembly told the Daily Graphic. The shoulders of the Zongo-Junction Old Road leading to the market and the police station, which had also been taken over by trading activities, were cleared and for the first time in several years, there was smooth vehicular movement on that stretch of the road.