Political banners eat up KK Nagar’s cycle track

Tagging the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami who was featured in the banners through the length of the cycle track on PT Rajan Salai in KK Nagar, one Twitter-user Sankar wrote, “PT Rajan Salai KK Nagar has the narrowest of roads due to a shoddy cycling/ walking track done. Now, that’s also blocked by your banners. 

Do you expect school-going children to walk in the middle of the road?” 

The video posted shows the extra-large banners put up every few meters, blocking the track. 

“It is annoying! Keeping the mammoth banners means pushing the people to walk on the road, all for a dignitary who will cross the road for merely a few minutes! It’s ironic! If they (political leaders) want to prove their loyalty to the public, let them interact with people,” fumed Vidwesh, an IT analyst who has been residing in the locality for more than 25 years. 

Political banners eating up the Chennai’s footpaths is nothing new. Recently, Arappor Iyakkam, a city-based NGO, had highlighted how the opposition DMK broke a newly-laid granite platform from Ega Theatre to Koyambedu on Poonamallee High Road. 

Similarly, when BJP president Amit Shah visited Chennai in June, big posters and hoardings were erected on the footpaths near airport and along the East Coast Road (ECR), damaging the infrastructure. When contacted, officials from the zonal level had no clue of the obstructive banners, clearly indicating its illegal status. 

Corporation sources, however, reveal that dealing with the political banners has been a huge challenge, leaving the civic body at its wits end. The KK Nagar cycle track has been a failure, according to the residents, who say that lack of monitoring has led to encroachment by cars and vendors. 

Activist Narayanan A, Director of Change India who had petitioned the Corporation and Traffic Police many times, said, “The road was narrowed for this track and turned into a one-way street, which nobody follows, resulting in chaos. The Traffic Police are turning a blind eye to these encroachments, defeating the purpose of the track.”