Park freed of parking menace

Chennai Corporation last week reclaimed one of its oldest roadside parks on Khader Nawaz Khan Road in Nungambakkam. The facility had, over the past decade, been turned into a makeshift parking lot for upmarket stores and restaurants on the stretch. The park was created nearly 50 years ago.

Temporary encroachments created by the commercial establishments to facilitate parking of vehicles were removed on Friday.

Corporation officials told

The Hindu that a stretch of the road margin measuring close to 200 metres in length and about 5 metres in width was earmarked for creating the roadside park in 1967.

The park was well-maintained and used by residents of KNK Road and adjoining areas till about a decade ago. “People started selling their bungalows and houses. The lovely stretch soon became a prime commercial spot,” said a resident. With many commercial establishments coming up, vehicles began using the green space for parking, he said.

“The park became a full-fledged private parking lot,” said T. Shanmugham, a resident of Model School Road. Car and auto drivers said finding a slot to park was becoming increasingly difficult. “The park gave the entire stretch a facelift and the Corporation should recreate it and maintain it too,” said V. Karuna, an auto driver.

Officials said the property belonged to the Corporation and no one had the right to grab or convert it for any other purpose than what was intended. The decision to spruce up the park was taken during a meeting of elected representatives with the civic body’s administration, they added.