Come Saturday and people living at Kommadi find it difficult to commute on the service roads, as the entire road is occupied by hawkers who put up their stall as part of the weekly shandy.
Hawkers occupy almost every inch from the Kommadi bus station to the flyover, and people who live inside the colony will have to drive at least a kilometre ahead to find a way into the colony.
This apart, since the entire road is occupied, one has to walk or drive on the main highway, which is extremely dangerous for pedestrians, said R. Jagadeeswara Rao, a resident of Kommadi.
Kommadi Junction is declared one among the most dangerous spots as far road accidents are concerned in the city, and pedestrians are vulnerable on Saturdays, as even the footpath is occupied.
Kommadi and Madhurawada were under the panchayat till they were merged with the GVMC in 2005. But the tradition of weekly shandies still continues. “We have asked the GVMC officials to allot a site to hold the shandy, but so for no action has been taken,” says a shop owner Srinivasa Rao.
This apart, another major problem that the residents have been facing, is the issue of parking. Almost all shop owners abutting the service road have taken the footpath as parking spot. They not only park their own vehicles but also tempos and mini-vans that ferry their goods.
Police silent“Even autorickshaws have made the footpath their permanent parking spot. It is a bigger one near Madhurwada Durga Theatre,” says Mr. Srinivas Rao. To add to the misery of the residents, the traffic police turn a blind eye and deaf ear to their pleas.
