CHENNAI: Anisha Narayan* doesn’t remember the last time she could park her car outside her house without having an argument with other vehicle owners. A resident of RA Puram for over nine years, Narayan had not faced any problem with parking her second car on the road, until a cafeteria opened in her lane in 2017.
“Parking is a nightmare now. Forget parking my second car on the road, there are times where some people park in front of my gate even though I have clearly put a board asking them not to. Not a day goes by when I do not fight with someone because of this parking issue. It is agonising when we have guests over because they have to keep taxiing in the neighbourhood to find a spot to park,” she says. With eateries popping up in the city in residential areas, residents are battling parking issues that entail safety and noise pollution.
Troublesome pub-goers The CMDA’s Development Regulations (Volume II) of the Second Master Plan for Chennai Metropolitan Area, 2026, has detailed points on parking requirements for hotels and restaurants. But, this hardly seems to be followed by establishment owners. “We try to follow the norms but it is very tough,” says the manager of a well-known pub in the city on the condition of anonymity. “On weekends, in particular, we try our best to accommodate everyone without causing any disturbance to the residents, but there is only so much we can do. Our parking spots fill up in no time and we are then forced to ask patrons to park on the roads.
I realise that this can be troublesome for residents and we do get a lot of complaints, not just about parking but also noise and bad behaviour of the pub-goers,” he says. Safety is a serious concern for a lot of residents, especially those who live near pubs or nightclubs in the city. “We have lived here for so many years but have not been concerned about safety because it was always a quiet, safe residential area,” says Kamakshi Shah*, who lives in an apartment complex near MRC Nagar, which houses a popular pub in addition to luxury hotels and restaurants. “It is now very common to see inebriated people walking on the streets, smoking and talking loudly, especially during weekends. I have young children and I don’t let them go out alone after sunset because I don’t want them to be exposed to that. I’m worried about their safety. It is hard enough to shield them from media influences, this is just an added worry.” The other concern about living near a pub is noise pollution.
It particularly affects the elderly. “It does get tough to sleep at night because even though the establishments shut at around 11 pm, people hang around laughing and cackling on the streets for much after that,” said 70-year-old A Lakshmanan, a resident of Thiruvanmiyur that has seen a surge in the number of eateries, especially near the beach. Not fireproof There is also the fear that these restaurants and eateries are more susceptible to fire accidents. “There are so many instances of restaurants having fire accidents in recent times,” says Jayanth Kumar, a resident of T Nagar, one of the popular areas which is teeming with food joints.
“Especially in areas like T Nagar where the population density is so high and the houses and commercial establishments of all kinds are so close together, it is a real concern for us residents. I am always worried that something will happen,” he says. But this voice of worry is not the voice of all residents. Some residents have welcomed the establishment of cafeterias and eateries in their locality as they felt it breathed life into their quiet, quaint streets.
“We have lived in this lane in Adyar for over 20 years now and it was getting quite dull and dreary,” says A Jayalakshmi, a 65-year-old resident of Kasturba Nagar. “As an elderly woman, there is nothing that gives me more joy than seeing young people have a good time. Ever since a cafeteria opened up in our lane, I hear the sound of laughter and banter, and that is lovely. It has also given me an excuse to treat my grandchildren to some pastries every now and then without having to go far off,” she says. *Names changed on request.