Open spaces below the flyovers throw up various options for those who are on the go. It is not about such spaces being used to park vehicles or beautified to enhance the aesthetics of an area. Sometimes, all of what people need is a clean resting place for them to take a quick nap.
Drive past the Moolakadai junction on Grand Northern Trunk (GNT) Road and one is sure to see people resting on the neatly-laid red sand. Some of them climb over the steel fence and occupy the vacant space, thanks to the cool breeze below the bridge. Another reason why it draws people is that the bus stop is located close-by.
Sometimes, the beat traffic police personnel ask these people to vacate the space.
As per norms, such occupation of public property is illegal. Such encroachments have to be cleared by the respective government agencies — State Highways or Chennai Corporation — with the assistance of the local police. In order to prevent such spaces from being dirtied, the respective State agencies have been putting them to various uses.
For example, the space below the newly-built flyovers in Tirumangalam and Porur are used to store water pipelines by the Chennai Metrowater.
Currently, dumping red sand on the empty space below the flyovers in Vysarpadi and Retteri — only one arm towards Madhavaram has been completed — is a measure undertaken by the State Highways Department to prevent the vacant space from getting encroached upon.
At the Moolakadai flyover too, Highways Department officials said saplings would be planted before the onset of the north-east monsoon.
The Department also plans to improve the lighting facilities.
