Corpn turns blind eye to shops, hotels eating
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CHENNAI: As law enforcement agencies fail to keep a constant watch on public spaces meant for pedestrians and vehicle users, encroachers thrive
along arterial roads. And as corporation officials and the police force display little enthusiasm to restore public space to the city's citizens, anti-socials, backed by political clout, often take over. Regaining encroached land is not easy, as social activists will tell you.
Take the example of the three permanent sheds that suddenly cropped up last week on more than half a ground of land, off the Mambalam canal near Saravana Bhavan in KK Nagar. Until then, there was at the site a notice board put up by corporation authorities that suggested the land was owned by them. Today, the boards have been uprooted and can be seen near the canal, even as government officials move about in the area, ostensibly to provide various welfare measures'. "It is shocking," says K Pugazhenthi, an advocate who has complained to the local body about the encroachments.
On the road adjoining the canal there are more than 140 traders selling timber. The traders had earlier encroached on pavements near the ESI Hospital on Anna Main Road. It was only at the behest of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board that they were relocated to the present site. Instead of confining themselves to the earmarked space, they extended their outlets on to the road, shrinking further the narrow road space available.
"Traders have beeen pleading for a permanent site to be allocated by government. We have to wait and see whether the state regularises such encroachments," says V Gopalakrishnan, a social activist. Currently, the market rate for a small shop here is a whopping Rs 10 lakh.
On Anna Main Road, eateries have sprung along the roadside. Some have even built concrete structures near Metrowater's sewage treatment plant in Nesapakkam. Not a single corporation vehicle has come to demolish the structures, residents say. Hundreds of vehicles use the road to reach Virugambakkam and Porur, but that has not goaded authorities into initiating action against the offenders. Helping the eatery business thrive is a TASMAC outlet nearby.
The local body has also hardly shown interest in clearing encroachments on government-owned land in Soolaipallam, near the Adyar river. An Anganwadi (No. 784) has been running here for years, but now a portion of it has been encroached on by a neighbour. The remaining open space has been taken up by parked vehicles, huge garbage bins and construction material.
When contacted, concerned authorities said that they would soon initiate action and get rid of encroachments. "We have intimated the local police also," a senior official said.
Take the example of the three permanent sheds that suddenly cropped up last week on more than half a ground of land, off the Mambalam canal near Saravana Bhavan in KK Nagar. Until then, there was at the site a notice board put up by corporation authorities that suggested the land was owned by them. Today, the boards have been uprooted and can be seen near the canal, even as government officials move about in the area, ostensibly to provide various welfare measures'. "It is shocking," says K Pugazhenthi, an advocate who has complained to the local body about the encroachments.
On the road adjoining the canal there are more than 140 traders selling timber. The traders had earlier encroached on pavements near the ESI Hospital on Anna Main Road. It was only at the behest of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board that they were relocated to the present site. Instead of confining themselves to the earmarked space, they extended their outlets on to the road, shrinking further the narrow road space available.
"Traders have beeen pleading for a permanent site to be allocated by government. We have to wait and see whether the state regularises such encroachments," says V Gopalakrishnan, a social activist. Currently, the market rate for a small shop here is a whopping Rs 10 lakh.
On Anna Main Road, eateries have sprung along the roadside. Some have even built concrete structures near Metrowater's sewage treatment plant in Nesapakkam. Not a single corporation vehicle has come to demolish the structures, residents say. Hundreds of vehicles use the road to reach Virugambakkam and Porur, but that has not goaded authorities into initiating action against the offenders. Helping the eatery business thrive is a TASMAC outlet nearby.
The local body has also hardly shown interest in clearing encroachments on government-owned land in Soolaipallam, near the Adyar river. An Anganwadi (No. 784) has been running here for years, but now a portion of it has been encroached on by a neighbour. The remaining open space has been taken up by parked vehicles, huge garbage bins and construction material.
When contacted, concerned authorities said that they would soon initiate action and get rid of encroachments. "We have intimated the local police also," a senior official said.
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