Customers at restaurants gobble up footpaths in Chennai

Civic body blamed for allowing eateries to open without parking
Parked vehicles encroaching areas outside eateries and commercial establishments at 4th main road that leads to Elliot’s Promenade at Besant Nagar | DEBADATTA MALLICK
Parked vehicles encroaching areas outside eateries and commercial establishments at 4th main road that leads to Elliot’s Promenade at Besant Nagar | DEBADATTA MALLICK

CHENNAI: A slew of eateries has mushroomed in and around Adyar, and so have parking encroachments. Residents of the area complain that almost 80 per cent of the restaurants, both big and small, located in Adyar, Besant Nagar, and its vicinity are not equipped with parking facilities. While some have little space for two-wheelers, car parking is unavailable in most of the eateries.

“One of the famous restaurant chains in the city opened their branch near Aavin Circle about two years ago, sans parking facility. They tell their customers there is valet parking and that we can park vehicles near the MTC bus stop on the road connecting Sardar Patel Road and Besant Avenue. Similarly, there is a beeline of vehicles on either side of Kasturba Nagar Main Road due to the opening of numerous restaurants. How can the civic body permit restaurants to operate like this?” asked C Ramakrishnan, a member of Federation of Resident Associations of Adyar (FEDARA).

Concurring, R Vanitha, a resident of Kasturba Nagar, said, “Due to water scarcity, tanker lorries frequent the area. If the lorry stops near one of the eateries on Kasturba Nagar, there won’t even be space for two-wheelers to move forward. Eateries on one side and parked vehicles on the other occupy the road.”

With grants from Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF), the Bus Route Roads Department of Chennai Corporation revamped footpaths in 23 stretches at an estimated cost of `22 crore. Of this, eight stretches in Adyar were revamped during end of October 2018, only to be encroached and damaged again.
On Adyar Second Main Road, a supermarket chain has allowed parking on pavements for its customers. The footpath, along MG Road connecting Adyar and Besant Nagar, has been encroached by mini-vans and four wheelers.

“Every area in Adyar that has eateries faces the problem of parking encroachments. From Adyar junction to the interior roads, two-wheelers dot either side of the road causing heavy traffic snarls in peak hours. We have been facing the problem for over a decade and the issue is only becoming more severe,” said R Venugopalan, a resident of Besant Nagar.

When contacted, an official concerned from the Greater Chennai Corporation said they conduct regular drives to clear encroachments and impose fines on those parking illegally.

As a pedestrian, do you face similar civic woes, and feel strongly about them? Write to us at response_tn@newindianexpress.com

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