Following hundreds of complaints from the public, an anti-encroachment drive was conducted around Tirunelveli Junction on Saturday.
Though vehicular traffic around Tirunelveli Junction is swelling menacingly everyday, no concrete action has been taken so far against the traders, who either extend their stalls on the pavements meant for the pedestrians or allow small vendors to set up their roadside stalls in front of their shops.
With the official machinery turning blind eye on these encroachments, the encroachers, have established even temporary structures on the roadside to cause hardship to the pedestrians, road users and those who have to park their vehicles on roadside.
Against this backdrop, the Tirunelveli Corporation received hundreds of complaints from the aggrieved public, which compelled the urban local body to take action against the encroachers with the backing of police a few months ago.
As the Corporation failed to monitor the encroachers after their drive, illegal structures started coming up in and around the Junction again.
After the Corporation received appeals from the public urging the officials to take stringent action against the encroachers, an eviction drive was conducted on Saturday even as a police team led by Tirunelveli Junction Inspector of Police Francis was providing security. When a group of traders tried to resist the drive, the police neutralized it.
