Source : The Hindu Date : 10.06.2009

Tambaram Municipality steps up drive against encroachments

Special Correspondent

— Photo: A.Muralitharan

Action apace: An earth-mover of Tambaram Municipality demolishing encroachments on Tuesday.

TAMBARAM: Tambaram Municipality has stepped up its drive against encroachments in West Tambaram, particularly in market areas and important commercial streets.

Since Friday, officials of the local body have been cracking down on illegal and unauthorised structures. It was initially believed to be an act against temporary structures that the local body brings down during its routine drive.

The encroachment drive has now entered its fifth day, making it one of the most intensive drives against unauthorised structures in the recent past. While owners of petty shops and bigger commercial establishments alleged that that the local body’s action only reflected its vindictive attitude, municipal authorities denied the charge.

They clarified they were acting on several complaints from the general public and also on instructions from the State government to crack the whip on unauthorised structures.

Municipal authorities over the past few days have been bringing down the unauthorised projections, shops and permanent buildings on Muthurangam Street and the main market area in the Duraiswamy Reddiar open market and on Abdul Razzaq Street.

“There is no justification for the sudden and unjustified action from engineering, town planning or sanitary authorities of the municipality,” said K. Ramesh, one of the hundreds of workers in the West Tambaram market.

Municipal authorities said they were initiating the crackdown as the problem of encroachments had assumed such large proportions that even the common public were unable to walk around freely either on Shanmugham Road or through the fish, poultry and vegetable markets around Abdul Razzaq Street.