The Times of India 11.12.2009
Removal of encroachments in Tambaram eases traffic
CHENNAI: For more than threee decades, pedestrians and shoppers have fought for space on Shanmugam Road in West Tambaram, one of Tambaram's busy stretches. However, on Thursday, it was a different looking Shanmugham Road. The Tambaram municipality razed down more than 75 illegal structures, mostly petty shops and kiosks erected by fruit-sellers that had been a feature of the stretch.
About 50 police personnal attached to the Tambaram police station and 25 municipality staff led the eviction drive. "Today's eviction is an ongoing exercise by the local body. More of such measures will follow in the coming days," officials of the Tambaram municipality told TOI.
Located near Tambaram junction, Shanmugam Road connects interior areas of West Tambaram with the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road, a national highway (NH 45). A large market at the entrance of the road, a chain of petty shops and hawkers had encroached on both sides of the road, resulting in traffic chaos daily.
"The stretch is as crowded as Ranganathan Street in T Nagar. Traffic congestion is a perennial problem here," said K Velmurugan, a resident in West Tambaram.
Out of nearly 150 shops on either side, municipality officials removed nearly 50 illegal strutures while another 25, mainly petty shops, were removed from Abdul Razzak Road, adjacent to Shanmugam Road. Most of the shops sold shoes or readymade garments. The removal of the illegal structures has now restored the width of both roads, to 66 feet.
Thursday's eviction comes two months after a similar eviction drive was conducted by the municipality on GST Road near the junction to ease traffic. However, the encroachments had reappeared sooner than later.
