The Hindu 02.03.2011
Civic body returns to clear Pudupet
Corporation enlists police help in the face of opposition from scrap merchants
Encroachments being removed in Pudupet on Tuesday. — Photo: R.Ragu
: The Chennai Corporation on Tuesday cleared encroachments in Pudupet with the assistance of the police, after it received complaints from road users.
The Corporation had to seek police assistance for removing the encroachments as a large number of shopkeepers had prevented its officials when they attempted to remove the encroachments on Monday.
The encroachments removed included portions of 100 shops on South Canal Bank Road on the banks of the Cooum River, an official of the Corporation said.
Most of the shops in the area were those of merchants of scrap collected from used vehicles.
The shops were parking old vehicles and dumping scrap on the road for the past 40 years, the official added.
A total of 44 loads of debris of demolished structures were removed using bulldozers on Tuesday.
As there was traffic congestion in the area because of the haphazard parking of vehicles in the area, the civic body had to intervene, the official added.
The traffic police have the responsibility of towing vehicles parked unauthorisedly on the road and they have been requested by the civic body to take action on such vehicles in the area. Unauthorised parking of vehicles on roads would be stopped in the area and traffic congestion is expected to ease in the area shortly, the official added.
