The hawkers on Usman road are back in the spotlight, with residents expecting the Corporation to make these road side vendors fall in line and move into the hawker’s complex at Pondy Bazaar. At the working committee meeting of T. Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, held last Sunday, residents discussed the issue.
G. Kailasam, a resident of Usman Road, said: “There is a vast difference between the T. Nagar of the Sixties and the one today. It was then a purely residential area. Today it has turned into a commercial hub. The Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Police must evict the hawkers and relocate them at the Pondy Bazaar Complex in accordance with the Madras High Court directive.”
V. Rangan, a resident of Pinjala Subramaniam Street, said the area beneath the Usman Road flyover should be fenced and converted into a parking zone.
M. Basheer, president of the Association, has set up a footwear store outside his residence on Ramanathan Street to prevent hawkers from setting up shop there.
So congested is the place that a fire brigade or an ambulance cannot even enter the street in case of emergency. “We cannot take our vehicles out as hawkers block the entire stretch,” he added.
The meeting also discussed the issue of residents of an apartment building in Ragan Street being forced to sell their house to accommodate the extension plan of a jewellery shop.
A resident of the apartment said: “Of the 24 flats, the store has already purchased 10. It has constituted a team to force other residents to sell their propertiesto extend the store. Built in violation of CMDA rules and regulations, it does not comply with fire safety norms as well. The store also uses the premises of the apartment to put up scaffolding. In the event of of any untoward incident it will fall on the apartment causing extensive damage.”
Meanwhile, V. Santhanam, a resident of Mahalakshmi Street, complained about MTC and share-autos not following their original route.
At the end of the meeting, the association decided to file an RTI against the stay order obtained by the hawkers of Usman Road and meet the Chairman of the Hawking Committee A. Ramamurthi. They will be moving the High Court for contempt against its order.
