Regulating shops lining a few important stretches, including NSC Bose Road and Broadway in George Town, would end the traffic chaos on these routes without depriving traders of their livelihood , according to traders in George Town.
These traders pointed out that they have been in the neighbourhood since the time of the British.
This development comes in the wake of Madras High Court order asking the Chennai Corporation and other government agencies including the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to demolish illegal constructions that block the smooth flow of traffic in the neighbourhood.
Last year, social activist K.R. Ramaswamy alias ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy filed a public interest litigation in the Madras High Court, seeking a direction to authorities with regard to illegal constructions in the locality in order to prevent fire accidents.
In his petition, Ramaswamy alleged ‘deliberate negligence’ on the part of the Corporation, traffic police, fire services and CMDA in preventing illegal structures from coming up. The issue got aggravated after one person was charred to death in a major fire accident at Naraya Mudali Street last year. Due to illegal structures, the stretch was blocked making it difficult for fire tenders to reach the fire accident spot on time. It is alleged that due to the delay, a life was lost.
According to Corporation officials, at present, George Town has more than 14,000 buildings with around 25,000 property tax assessees.
George Town primarily comprises residential and mixed-residential zones. It is classified as a ‘continuous building area’, permitting structures of ground-plus-one floor. Many of the owners have been found to have obtained permission for a building with ground-plus-one floor, but have constructed multi-storeyed buildings. A number of the structures have been constructed without obtaining building approval from the civic body.
For many generations, traders in George Town, which comprises Sowcarpet, Broadway, Parry’s Corner, Kondithope, Seven Wells, Kotwalchavadi, and Flower Bazaar, have been involved in a variety of businesses, ranging from safety pins to iron and steel goods.
Currently, the neighbourhood is host to at least 42,000 big merchants who mainly deal with wholesale iron and steel goods, textile, rice and other cereals, hardware and building items including furniture and bathroom fittings. Hawkers and small traders account for around 600 shops and occupy the footpaths on important stretches like NSC Bose Road, Broadway and street lanes.
“Dedicated space for these small traders within the neighbourhood would restore the original width of the stretches. This would ease the traffic pressure on these stretches. A separate and dedicated team of officials from various state agencies including the police, Corporation and CMDA should be involved in it,” said P. Anees Raja, president, George Town All Merchants Welfare Association.
