The J.J. Nagar police station in Anna Nagar reportedly does not have enough personnel, and encroachments are believed to be cropping up on the footpaths of Bazaar Road in Collector Nagar as a result of this. Besides hawkers taking over the footpaths, vehicles are also found parked at ‘no-parking’ zones. And pedestrians have no option but to walk along the road.
“During the rush hour, the stretch is congested with parking of bikes and cars, especially private cabs,” said V. Ramani, a social activist from J.J. Nagar. Moreover, there is no signboards to indicate ‘no parking’ zones on the stretch. Interestingly, Bazaar Road has a police booth manned by J.J. Nagar Police at the intersection of the stretch with the Ambattur Estate Road.
With the stretch having been reduced to half of its total width of 60 feet, bus drivers find it difficult to drive on the congested road.
“We have limited police personnel within our limits. Placing them on other duties is not possible because currently most of them are engaged in traffic regulation near the school zones,” said a traffic police. The 60-feet Bazaar Road is the main link for many street lanes including Vinakar Koil street, Gandhi street, Ambedkar street and Anna street to reach Anna Nagar, Thirumangalam, Padi, Kolathur and the Poonamallee High (PH) Road via Ambattur Estate Road. Further, the stretch also connects Nolambur, Mogappair East with Ambattur Estate Road. Besides, having many commercial establishments, the stretch is an important route for 23 bus services that operate from the bus terminus in Mogappair East and West and go to places like Broadway, T.Nagar, Tambaram, Adyar, Saidapet and Red Hills. On the other hand, motorists find it easy to use the bitumen-topped Bazaar Road to reach places like Anna Nagar, Tirumangalam, Ambattur, Mannurpet, Thirumullavoyal, J.J Nagar and Maduravoyal, Porur and Tambaram via the Chennai Bypass Road and the Third Main Road in Nolambur.
