Residents of over 20 streets in Panagal Park and T. Nagar will seek ‘protective shelter’ in a police station on Sunday.
After allegedly being prevented by ‘traders from entering homes because of haphazard and illegal parking,’ residents of over 700 homes in the shopping hub have planned to seek ‘shelter’ at R1 Mambalam Police Station.
Those living on Motilal Street, Mahalakshmi Street, Mangai Street, Dandapani Street, Ramanathan Street, Madley Road, Muthurangan Salai, Venkatesan Street, Burkit Road, Sarojini Street, Natesan Street, Ramanathan Street, Rameswaram Road and Pinjala Subramanian Street will participate in the ‘protest’.
“The residents sent a telegraphic notice to the city police commissioner a week ago. The police are yet to take any action to regulate illegal parking,” said P. Venugopal, a resident of Madley Road.
“Whenever we ask a trader blocking our gates with vehicles to move, they claim the police have permitted them. The Chennai Corporation too does not do anything to clear hindrances on the pavement. This has aggravated the problem,” he said.
Traders have also dumped goods and waste on 20 interior roads hindering normal life, said V. Jayaraman, a resident of Motilal Street.
“Recently, a resident was unable to go to a hospital because of the problem created by illegal parking,” he said.
As the police have a larger role to play in protecting residents from the challenges of illegal parking by shoppers and traders, the residents are seeking the intervention of the police,” he said.
The city traffic police made parking arrangements that came into force a few months ago during Deepavali, but it was opposed by some shoppers.
“A large number of people throng T. Nagar, a major shopping hub. The government must take measures to improve shopping experience without affecting residential areas,” said Babu Emmanuel, a trader in T. Nagar.
Keywords: illegal parking, T.Nagar parking issues, T. Nagar residents, Panagal Park, parking regulation
It is indeed very heartening to note that the residents have sent a notice to the city Police Commissioner.The next step that they should take is to forcibly occupy local police stations on the grounds of seeking police protection from goondas who disallow access to their homes.And if this fails to produce results,they should march into the Poes Gardens residential compound of the CM.That would teach the authorities not to trifle with PEOPLE POWER
Not only T.Nagar but also Arya Gowda road (upto ayodhya mandapam - off
streets in arya gowda road with many kalyana mandapams)seems to have
been traded off. at least t. nagar area is temporary parking and free
from 10 pm to 6 a.m but here the roads are permanent garages.
Local Platform traders have no license, except selling on retail,and depending on Padesetrians.and Local residents have no option except to live with this menace and even the police have regular daily income from these platform traders.Hence it is a never ending story.
These traders must be contributing to political parties' election fund and that is why no political party supports any action against the illegal encroachments. In India nobody obeys law and follows the rules. There should be one side parking in specified streets and there should be a high rise parking facility also. Unloading of goods should be done after 11p.m and before 4 a.m. If any vehicle is parked illegally then it should be impounded and heavy fines should be levied. In case of repetition of the illegal parking the vehicle should be impounded and sold in public auction.
It is no secret that these "platform shops" are operating with complete
blessing of the Chennai police. Its not just the zoning laws affected
but the "safety" of shops and shopowners. The best way forward would be
segregate business areas with residential area taking into account the
population expansion for the next 200 years in the cities. No
residential buildings to be allowed in the business area and vice versa.
The entire Ranganaathan street and the surroundings have to be
constructed as a big shopping mall with entrance to train & bus station.
This helps to provide a parking lot with in a maal. This will transform
the whole place and the city.
This is the result when there is no proper zoning laws in the city. T.Nagar, as was most of the old Madras city, was once a very peaceful and quiet residential locality. Today, because of the lack of adequate zoning laws, the area is unfit for residential purposes.
T. Nagar has been written off by the politicians (who do not own the place) to the
tradespeople (who have steadily eaten into residents' houses and compounds) and
illegal street-vendors (who have no legal standing, but who constitute vote banks
and goon squads for the politicians, and an unofficial ATM for the police). The
roads have become full-fledged bazaars thanks to the vendors, and the residents
can no longer walk out of their homes without being run over by the maniacal
motorcyclists balancing entire families with huge shopping bags on their
precarious vehicles. All weekdays and especially Saturdays see gigantic gridlocks in
T. Nagar because Indian drivers have less sense than even ants, which have
understood the efficiency of moving one behind the other in an orderly file, unlike
our drivers who block both sides of the road in both directions, to nobody's
benefit. All in all, the roads of T. Nagar demonstrate what happens when total
indiscipline takes over.
The cops are paid off I guess..So the protesters are "protesting" to
the wrong people.
The traders lobby is buying out all the forces that work against its activities to make profit. Instead of getting BP/heart attacks/tensions the residents may decide to move out that area selling of the properties for the best market rates. There is no solution to this at all.
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