Vegetable vendor takes up whole pavement, has 3 fridges for shops

Chennai: Once voted as a popular stretch for cycling and walking under Smart City Mission, pavements of Besant Nagar’s Second Avenue are now under the occupation of a vegetable vendor who has taken over the whole stretch near Mahaganapathi Temple.
He even has three refrigerators for the roadside shop, but no one knows how he got electricity connection for the illegal facility.The second avenue, one of the city’s broadest interior avenues, was restored under Smart City Mission. A GCC online poll even voted it as a popular road for cycling and walking, featuring several cycling markers and signages.
However, the road is now crowded with roadside hawkers, especially near Mahaganapathi temple, where four stalls have completely blocked the pavements. Despite the broad roads, temple-goers and those heading to Besant Nagar bus terminus are forced to walk on the streets.
What started as betel leaves and flower stalls decades ago outside the Mahaganapathi temple has now morphed into full-fledged roadside vegetable markets, complete with three refrigerators and grocery items.
The shops have installed steel poles and erected shelters on the Smart City pavements.
When asked, GCC zonal officer for Adyar, P V Srinivasan, told TOI that he would inspect the site on Saturday and take action. “I will check if they’ve been given electricity connections. We will act on it and also remove the stalls,” he said.
T D Babu, a resident, said cycling signages and rubber road markings are damaged. “When metro work begins at Adyar bus depot area, traffic will be diverted to interior stretches, and residents will struggle to walk on the roads,” he said.