The Greater Chennai Corporation has decided to focus on commercial areas to remove unauthorised street hawkers. The GCC will focus on areas such as T. Nagar, to help increase the carriageway of roads and for pedestrians to be able to use pathways seamlessly, according to a zonal official.
On Thursday, May 2, 2024, assistant engineers and assistant executive engineers removed over 60 shops along an 80-metre stretch in T. Nagar’s Ranganathan Street, after several complaints from residents, said T. Enian, executive engineer of zone 10 (Kodambakkam). The drive will be conducted more frequently, possibly once a week, after the Lok Sabha election results are declared, he added. A similar drive was conducted three months ago, Mr. Enian said.
According to zonal officials, mobile eateries, and fruit and flower vendors sprout up within a day or so at many spots, especially in and around the T. Nagar and Koyambedu markets, even after being evicted.
“There are certain pitfalls in holding such drives frequently. The street hawkers claim their livelihoods are hit, and plead with us not to remove them. There is also political pressure to not remove some shops. But to ease traffic and help pedestrians, the illegal shops must be done away with completely. We are working on a monitoring system so we can identify repeat offenders, many of whom flee at the sight of our vehicles,” an official, requesting anonymity, said.
Meanwhile, overlapping of areas amidst zones has also been an issue hampering the removing encroachments.
One such example is an eatery set up on a footpath alongside the junction between Thanikachalam Road and Saravana Street, which has been an impediment to pedestrians for several years, said N.R. Vijay, a local resident. Officials of the Teynampet and Kodambakkam zones said portions of the road fall under both, and after verifying the spot and inspecting it, the eatery would be removed accordingly.
Zone 9 (Teynampet) officials said that recently, over 50 shops were removed on Loop Road along Marina Beach.
