Vehicles continue to be parked on pavements and along the roadside due to lack of parking facilities or monitoring on Khader Nawaz Khan (KNK) Road, which was recently relaid. Sections of the newly-laid paver blocks are also damaged or have been dug up again for utility works. Residents say encroachments add to the problem, and congestion on the stretch has only been increasing. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) began work on this road in 2023, but the project remains incomplete.
Mahesh Reddy, a resident of Haddows Road, said work was progressing but slowly. “People have raised compound walls close to the KNK Road, which also decreases the carriageway width. This does not shrink the road drastically, but, with increased pedestrian walkway size, rampant illegal roadside parking — the carriageway reduction seems significant. Further, due to Chennai Metro Rail construction going on the Uthamar Gandhi Road, the bylanes are always congested… There is no designated car parking facility completed here,” he said.
Thameem, an autorickshaw driver, said tea shops also encroach on the pavements. “Neither the police, nor the Chennai Corporation have taken action to curb roadside parking,” he said.
