Venkata Gramini Street in Chintadripet seems to most things that residents of neighbourhood would look for — wide footpaths, bitumen-topped carriageway, LED street lights, stormwater drains and garbage bins. Despite these features, the street is avoided like the plague by many residents. The reason: The nuisance caused by tipplers visiting a Tasmac shop near the street’s intersection with Arunachal Road.
Avoiding this section would require these residents to travel an extra half-a-kilometre to reach Arunachal Road, but they do not seem to mind it. Pushcarts selling essentials like vegetables and fruits come to the opposite end of the stretch for the sake of residents.
“Earlier, we managed to remove a Tasmac shop from the main road (Arunachal Road) as it was causing traffic chaos. But, we are still fighting to get the liquor shop on Venkata Gramini Street shifted out,” says K. Anbu, a local trader.
Residents point out that the Tasmac outlet is a major reason why the bins overflow with garbage just a few hours after conservancy staff clear garbage from them. With routine police patrol in the neighbourhood, residents said, the nuisance caused by tipplers continues.
The Chintadripet police station is located around 100 metres from the stretch. Residents say that due to the presence of the Tasmac outlet, a row of roadside eateries has sprung up, and stray dogs feed on the food leftovers dumped in the garbage bins there. In Chintadripet, all the 10 streets including Naniappan street and Venkata Gramini street have street-corner bins apart from door-to-door collection by the civic body’s sanitary workers. The bins are mainly meant for shopkeepers in the neighbourhood to dump garbage every day. On an average, all street-corner bins in the neighbourhood generate around three tonnes of waste every day. “Steps will be taken to relocate the outlet away from the residential area soon,” says a Corporation official.
