When Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) renovated and extended the footpath on Perambur High Road in Jamalia last year, residents were not too excited.
Going by past experience, they believed the footpath would be taken over by shopkeepers and hawkers, including food-cart vendors. They have been proved right.
Complete with bollards, the footpath now seems to serve commercial establishments more than pedestrians. Pedestrians are forced to walk in the carriageway of the busy Perambur High Road.
R. Umapathy, an office-bearer of the Jamalia Exnora Welfare Association, says Perambur High Road serves as a link between Perambur and Jamalia. The arterial road is lined with hospitals, schools and banks, and is characterised by a considerable movement of pedestrians. Residents complain that despite several complaints to local GCC officials and traffic police about the encroachment, no remedial steps have been taken.
The residents are also concerned by the damage commercial establishments are causing to the footpath by removing the bollards and parking vehicles.
