Where: Entrance of Kapaleeswarara Temple (from the Ambika Applam Depot side) to Kumara Gurunathan Street, Mylapore
When: All days
This stretch is short — barely 200-ft long — but goes a long way towards promoting a lifestyle shorn of the irritants of noise and pollution. Supposed to be kept out of bounds for vehicles all days of the week, this stretch signifies a resolve to pedestrianise the Mada Streets in Mylapore.
ADVERTISEMENT
Last Saturday, though traffic police personnel were seen regulating traffic at North and South Mada Street, the barricades placed at the entrance of the ‘No entry zone for vehicles’ were missing.
Two-wheelers and autorickshaws were being operated on the stretch to drop devotees in front of the temple’s gate or to get to the other end of the road.
“Some motorcyclists pushed the barricades apart to get into the street,” said B. Raghu, an autorickshaw driver at Ambika Applam Depot stand.
ADVERTISEMENT
Vendors selling their wares at Ponnambala Vadhyar Street said that the no-vehicle free zone was in effect only for four to five days.
“It was a different experience. It was calm and you did not have to worry if a vehicle will push you,” said a vendor selling articles that are used in worship at the temple.
According to members of Kapaleecharam Committee, which is closely working with the Greater Chennai Corporation, the police and the temple management to make the Mada Streets a pedestrian-only zone, the plan is being implemented by Corporation officials from the ward after getting the no-objection certificate from the traffic police.
“We have sought changes to the arrangement as the barricades are movable.
“We have asked for an S-shaped arrangement that is grounded on the tar road,” said S. Viswanathan, secretary of Mylapore Residents Welfare Association.
Currently, during pradosham days, Ponnambala Vadhyar Street, East Tank Square and Sannidhi Street are maintained as a ‘No Vehicle Zone’, providing devotees with safe access to the temple.