Citizen Connect: ‘Market’ in Choolaimedu encroaches space on Anna Nedum Pathai, causes traffic snarls

The vegetables and fruit shops on Anna Nedum Pathai in Choolaimedu has encroached upon most of the road and thus the spot have become a bottleneck, causing traffic snarls throughout the day.

The encroachments by the vendors have been dubbed as a market by the residents. “We have been buying vegetables and fruits from the shops on Anna Nedum Pathai for several years now. It has now become a proper market,” said M Priya, a resident of Sriramapuram in Choolaimedu.

The traffic is much affected as most of the pushcart shops — all of them stationary — are located close to a junction where Anna Nedum Pathai merges with Periyar Pathai. 

Anna Nedum Pathai is one of the major interior roads in the locality. The road connects Nelson Manickam Road, Arumbakkam and Kodambakkam.

“One can easily reach Nelson Manickam Road from Arcot Road through Anna Nedum Pathai. Otherwise, motorists have to endure long traffic signals. However, the wider road is rife with encroachments on both the sides, making driving difficult,” G Arun Kumar, a motorist, said.

When asked, a vendor said that they are running the shops without disturbing anyone and no one in the locality blames them for traffic snarls. 

But riders like Arun Kumar urged the civic body to regulate the shops and relocate them to side streets along Anna Nedum Pathai.

“We do not want to ruin their livelihood but the officials should move them to other places where they can do business without affecting the traffic movement,” he suggested.

When DT Next visited the spot last week, it was found that the shops encroached the road up to 100 to 200 metres from Periyar Pathai junction. Beyond the ‘market’, protracted portions of other shops were also seen occupying the road. 

On the other side of the road, near Nelson Manickam Road junction, Anna Nedum Pathai is free of encroachments.

A Chennai Corporation official said that the vendors would be regulated after the vending and non-vending zones are finalised. “We would move the vendors from the crowded roads after the regulations are implemented,” he added.