Unauthorised parking troubles residents

Each and every lane in the constituency is witnessing a heavy flow of vehicles leading to unauthorized parking everywhere. 

Functionaries of political parties from the districts make use of every nook and corner in the constituency to park their vehicles. Residents complained that they needed to wade through the vehicles, while shop owners lamented that the cadre would confront them if they requested the functionaries park their vehicles elsewhere. 

“Everyone knows that the north Chennai is known for congested areas like Thiruvotriyur, Korukkupet and RK Nagar where roads are very narrow. Once the campaigns started, a large number of vehicles have come are plying on the roads and most of them are parked haphazardly,” said A Mohammed Ali, a resident of Poondi Thangammal Street, New Washermenpet. 

Meanwhile, as vehicles are parked along the streets, shop owners find it difficult to run their business. “The cadre simply park their vehicles in front of shops and go to by-lanes to meet the voters. When I asked one of the party cadre to move his vehicle, he along with another cadre picked up a quarrel with me,” said D Jayaramam, who runs a restaurant in Korukkupet. 

Commuters, particularly those heading for work, bear most of the brunt as arterial roads often witness huge traffic jams. “When a prominent political leader comes for campaigning, the entire stretch would be blocked,” said K Malar Mannan, a resident of Thondaiyarpet. 

When contacted by DTNext, a senior police official said, “It is a fact that RK Nagar is congested with vehicles, most of them coming from other districts. The ball is in the EC’s court and only they can restrict political parties from bringing large vehicles from other districts.”