Haphazard parking elbows out pedestrians at Flower Bazaar

Cars, rickshaws and even two-wheelers are parked at no parking zones, to which the police turn a blind eye. Thanks to these vehicles and garbage, there are hardly a few feet of the road left for pedestrians and motorists.

The bin kept on the main road is always overflowing. During festivals, scrap items from the shops are dumped on the road and remain uncleared for almost a week, locals said.

“During festival season, shopkeepers clean their shops and dispose of unnecessary items. The road gets worse by the end of the day, but Corporation workers do not clean the road,” said Senthil Kumar, a shopkeeper on Kasi Chetty Street.

The congested roads also pose danger during fire mishaps as there is no room for fire tenders to enter. “There was a fire accident on Narayana Murthy Street a few months ago. Fire tenders arrived on time but they had to stop far from the spot as the lanes were too narrow to accommodate the vehicle. There were no casualties, but goods were charred in the fire,” said Madhumitha S, a resident.

Vendors here pointed out that there are several two-wheelers parked in front of the shops and they make it difficult for customers to enter the shop. “Vehicles parked in front of shops belong to the workers here. We have asked them to park at a given space near the police station, but they do not follow it. If the public park vehicles here, we would tow them away and charge a penalty,” said a traffic police inspector attached to the Flower Bazaar police station.

Speaking to DT Next, Mani Sekar, conservancy supervisor, Royapuram zonal office, said, “We have asked the workers to clean the garbage bin twice a day. We have also asked the vendors not to throw waste on the road. Soon there is going to be fine/penalties for such violations.”