Greater Chennai Corporation has freed a prime space of encroachments on Anna Main Road in K.K. Nagar thanks to the lockdown. In this space, heavy vehicles transporting construction material would be found parked.
During the lockdown, in April, Corporation officials cleared the construction debris and the regular garbage. To prevent littering and unauthorised parking, the recovered space has been fenced.
The plan is to develop the space into a walkers’ pathway, with only a small entry on both ends to prevent dumping of garbage and other waste materials and also parking of vehicles, says a Corporation official.
More than a half-dozen such encroached spots on road are also being cleared of encroachments and fenced before turning them into walkers’ pathway.
“Besides fencing such open spaces, CCTV cameras should also be installed to check illegal dumping of garbage during night,” says K. Murugan, a motorist from Virumgambakkam.
The civic body had attempted such eviction drive along the stretch a few years ago. However, encroachers occupied the open space after removing the warning signboards erected by the Corporation. In the past, the cleared open space on the stretch was not fenced making it easy for encroachers to occupy the space again. This time, the civic body has erected steel fencing along the recovered space.
Residents and motorists have welcomed efforts by the civic body in restoring the key stretch. Every day, on an average, more than 5,000 motorists use the intersection to reach the main parts of the city including T. Nagar, Teynampet, Nandanam, Nungambakkam, Egmore and Mylapore from areas in north-western section of the city.
Anna Main Road is the shortest and less-congested route to take on the way to areas; by choosing it over Mount – Poonamallee High Road via Guindy and Arcot Road via Vadapalani, motorists would be reducing their travel time significantly.