Chennai: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has once again begun clearing encroachments along NSC Bose Road, removing around 50 shops and another 20 shops on Wall Tax Road with police support on Monday. However, within minutes after the vendors were evited, autorickshaws and pushcarts took over the stretch, further narrowing the carriageway.The eviction drive comes days after a woman constable attached to the Flower Bazaar police station was assaulted by a group of vendors while she was purchasing vegetables with her 10-year-old. She was not in uniform at the time. At least 10 vendors had ganged up on her following an argument, said police. The constable and her daughter later received treatment at Government Multi Super Specialty Hospital in Omandurar. CCTV footage from the area showed commotion and traffic disruption following the incident.Acknowledging that they were aware of the assault on the woman cop, GCC officials said Monday’s eviction drive was a routine operation and had nothing to do with the incident. The issue, however, has persisted for more than a decade. In 2015, late civic activist K R Ramaswamy, popularly known as Traffic Ramaswamy, filed a writ petition following which the Madras high court directed the corporation to remove roadside vendors and maintain the stretch between Parry’s Corner and Flower Bazaar as a ‘no hawking zone’. Despite the order, more than 150 vendors continued to occupy the area.Assistant engineer (ward 59) Karthick said encroachments were removed from two major stretches, between Central railway station and Blue Star Hotel. “The drive will continue for at least 10 days to ensure that the vendors do not return,” he said. Around 30 officers from GCC and 30 police personnel from the Flower Bazar Police station were involved in the eviction drive.A senior official from GCC said encroachers from Flower Bazar to Parry’s Corner, belonging to wards 59 and 60 would also be removed.However, the CITU-affiliated Street Vendors Association president C Thiruvettai said the association was holding talks with GCC regarding this. “There are violations. The aim is to regulate and provide a solution to the vendors. Our stance is to ensure that a viable alternative is found and their livelihoods are secure,” he said.
