Sidewalk encroachments rife near CM’s residence on Greenways Road

From Greenways Road and Durgabai Deshmukh Road junction, from where one of the most secured roads in the city starts, a transformer blocks the pavement on the right side of the road. Past the transformer, small hotels, tea shops squat upon. However, there is a pavement available for the pedestrian on the left side, but it is narrow and not even two persons could walk in tandem.

The narrow pavement also ends abruptly as autorickshaw drives use the pavement as a stand. Pedestrians could not walk without negating the protracted parts of the shops till the junction where Kamarajar Road meets Greenways Road. This is the part where the residences of judges and ministers start lining up.

Very close to the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy and judges’ quarters, there is a Vinayagar Temple encroaching the pavement.

Immediately after the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy, official residences of the Chief Minister and other Ministers start. The pavements on either side of the road are wider and well-maintained, only to park policemen’s vehicles.

The continuity of the pavement is broken at several parts of the road as the police have erected barricades in order to provide security to the residences of State Ministers.

In a blatant violation of the existing norms, a private building, which is located opposite the State Human Rights Commission, has erected a booth for its security personnel. 

As the structure completely encroaches the pavement, the pedestrians are forced to walk on the road. Near the residence of Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, there lies a bunk shop waiting to be removed.

There is no pavement on the left side of the road (when walked from Durgabai Deshmukh Road Junction) from South Kesava Perumalpuram Main Road up to Greenways Road MRTS station. Even though there is a pavement on another side, it is narrower.

The pavement on the bridge where Greenways Road ends could not be used as the entry and exit as the pavement is encroached by vehicles and small shops. Walk past the bridge, one could not climb the pavement as it has been laid at least 1.5 feet higher than the road level.

Two pushcart eateries on the pavement are not only encroaching the pavement but also letting the sewage water into the stormwater drain beneath it.