Chennai: At Kolathur’s busy Poompuhar Nagar 1st Main Road, which houses the Government Arts and Science College, at least four signboards warn commuters against encroaching on the footpath. For residents, however, the warnings have become little more than a running joke: footpaths are barely visible along the 600-metre stretch, with eateries, tea stalls and residential structures occupying much of the space.This is despite a 2023 order by the Local Bodies Ombudsman directing their removal and a 2025 Madras High Court order calling for a detailed survey of the land. “There is hardly any space to walk. It is the elderly, and women and children who are the most affected. The crowd intensifies in the evening hours afer college, and it becomes difficult to walk along the streth,” J Naveen, a student of the college.When TOI visited the spot on Sunday, tea stalls and hotels completely took over footpaths at several stretches and makeshift shops and had cropped up haphazardly. A few structures, including residences, were marked in yellow indicating that a survey had taken place.Following then Ombudsman directive to corporation officials, a communication by the zonal office, dated Aug 7, 2023, had assured of keeping the area encroachment-free. “Nothing has changed since. After seeing no solution to the problem, I moved the High Court in 2025, which called for surveying the area, identifying the encroachments, and carrying out evictions. The survey was completed nearly a year ago, but the report is yet to be made public. This area also falls under the smart cities project of the corporation. But it is in shambles now,” said S Velmurugan, advocate and resident-activist.An engineer from the corporation confirmed that several encroachments included residential accommodations and parts of places of worship too, but did not specify the action that would be taken. He further said that when encroachment removal drive was carried out in 2023, stall-owners threatened of protest against the officials.Zonal officer M Sathish Kumar said that he had only recently taken over the role, and would look into what can be done. “The Tahsildar conducted a survey, but we are not sure if a report has been submitted to the govt. I will check and see what action needs to be taken,” he added.Kolathur MLA VS Babu did not pick up calls for comments.
