Land grabbing on GN Chetty Road
The parking woes of the city are multiplying everyday. Access is no longer democratised. Private restaurants have started marking off space as reserved for their visitors. I discovered this when I tried parking on GN Chetty Road the other day. Attendants from a hotel called Sandeepha converged to tell me that I had to get a move on, as the road in front of their hotel was reserved for their guests.
They had obviously worked out a ‘something’ for the ‘pay and park attendant’, as he also stopped by to explain to me why I had no business parking in front of a hotel I wasn’t going to.
Isn’t there something we can do about this? Someone we can take a complaint to, and expect some action from?
Or one day these guys will be claiming access to our own parking lots.
I experienced this about a year back in front of a Bank in Besant Nagar. I told the watch man to show me the patta for the parking lot and went in and complained to the bank manager. He of course passed the buck to the secretary of the building residents association. I did not have the time to pursue this. Some time if you do park the car the watchmen puncture your tyre and you get to know that after you have driven a few kms only.
We need to complain about this to the corportion only I guess.
raj
Guys have you heard of free space index. None of our commercial establishments in Ranganathan street , t-nagar, mambalam etc follow them. Well what about increasing the free space index in Chennai, why can’t the government pass a rule with mandatory parking facilities inside the building or by the sides of the building or underground, multilevel parking. The roads are for vehicles to ply people and not for parking, crapping, peeing and having platform shops. The traffic police really sucks and have you guys recently tried going in t-nagar for shopping???? It really is @#$&&^*^(*@&$ mayhem over there! I parked my car home and went to T- Nagar last week end knowing there will definitely be no parking space and I was glad I did that.
Leave the west Guys go to Singapore, KL and see for yourself. Why can’t we enforce the enforcers of law to enforce the bloody law with intellectual force! Why can’t you guys in a particular area write a letter to the mayor, traffic police head, chief minister, the shop owner and to news agencies and give details of what is happening and what it might us to. Are we united in doing this, please we should get together to do things like this. Bloody hell we are paying these guys just to do this. This definitely is a boon for the Auto guys as they think anyone willing to go to T-Nagar will pay whatever he asks as he/she has more probability of having no other alternatives. We have resources but are we using them in an optimized fashion for the benefit of the society? The answer is no in all the cases. Guys it’s at a rapid pace at which they say our economy is growing. But are these social problems as well growing with a multiplier effect. I am so glad Manoj Jacob has raised the issue here. But wait, what can we do, we can read this think what the hell India is like that nothing will change or take actions and make things move and think its after all our job to do away with these problems and no foreigner or politician is going to take the remedial measures. So get you asses moving and make a difference today!
If at all any space needs to be reserved, then the building owner must pay a rental and paste a copy of it, or quote some number, on a board reserving any parking space.
The Corporation could use that money to buy some more land adjoining busy junctions like Nungambakkam, in their road widening efforts.
This issue is there all over Chennai.
Saravana Bhavan in Ashok Nagar was started without much parking space. They occupy the footpath and use the road for parking. Sometimes we could find a second level of parking right at the center of the main road. This hotel and the adjacent buildings force the people to walk through the centre of the road.
From Pillar, if we take the road towards Mambalam, on the left side there are two no parking boards but you can find lot of vehicles parked there.
Roads can not be widened … who is ready to give their lands. Are you??? Every individual has to think before blaming the Government
The best way is dont use bikes or cars. Use only public transport and autos . This will solve all the traffic and parking problems.
should we widen the roads to give more parking space for the restaurants and other shops who does not care about the customers parking lot?
Footpath is for pedestrians and it should not be allowed to be used for any other purpose. Just try to walk 1 km. in Chennai or for that matter any city in India and you will find how difficult it is.
I am forced to be a jaywalker by firms like Ashok Nagar Sharavanabhavan and thus putting my life in danger.
I remember one more instance….a scene that happened in front of New Nalli in T Nagar. There was some issue between two vehicles near New Nalli and they parked the vehicles in front of the shop and were discussing on how to proceed with the insurance. Suddenly some security guys came from the shop and asked them to take away the vehicles. Both the vehicles were obviously in public space and there was not fight of any sort. So who gave shop to ask these guys to move away? The same shop is using the footpath for ease of parking for the customers.
Dont Spare Balajee bhavan also… I had the same fight with that hotel security and parking personnel…and i was verbally absued by them….
Hotel Balajee Bhavan is in Pondy Bazar….
With regard to SARAVANA BHAVAN, THEY ENCROACHED THE PLATEFORMS wherever their BRANCHES AREWORKING;
1. IN aNNA nAGAR Branch, in the II main Road, they have installed a Jumbo Generator on the plateform itself adjacent to their building and people have to walk only on the centre of the road, since the same is in a corner, and have to face their fate;
2. In Mylapore Branch , the sameis also in the corner where the R.K. Mutt Road and South Mada Stree are meeting and their entrance itself encroached upto middle of the road and always creating traffic jams;
3. In their Radhakrishnan Road Branch all their rubbish and wastes are stored in Big Plastic Drums (Containers) and kept on the plateform near the Rajeswari Kalyana Mandapam and making the people who passing through nauceting.
The relevant area City Traffic Police are eligible for free Cofeee and breakfast and it make them to shut their eyes;
The basis of this is law and order.
Chennai needs effective law and order, independent of politicians and not subverted by private bribery.
Perhaps others would like to put odds on this every happening: I’m not very hopeful myself!