Roadside encroachments cleared ahead of festive rush

The Tiruchi Corporation has intensified its drive to remove encroachments from busy commercial streets ahead of the festive season to ease traffic congestion and ensure free movement of vehicles and pedestrians.

As part of a two-day enforcement drive, around 65 street vendors operating along N.S.B. Road and Big Bazaar Street, between the Rockfort Temple entrance and Town Hall, were evicted on Saturday. The vendors were selling footwear and various items on road that occupied portions of the carriageway.

On Friday, around 30 vendors selling fruits and flowers from two-wheelers and makeshift shops on Nandi Kovil Street were removed.

A team of Corporation officials, with the police support, carried out the operation along these stretches.

Although the areas near the Main Guard Gate and Rockfort Temple were declared no-vending zones last year, traffic congestion has persisted, with vendors continuing to sell their wares from bicycles and pushcarts along the carriageway.

The Corporation has stepped up enforcement to prevent vendors from reoccupying the designated no-vending zones and obstructing traffic, particularly as commercial activity is expected to increase during the festive season.

Officials said the drive would be conducted frequently to keep the streets free of encroachments and ensure that public spaces remain accessible to pedestrians and motorists.

However, residents said vendors often return to the same locations within a few days of being removed, undermining the civic body’s efforts.

“Stringent action should be taken to prevent them from returning,” a city resident said and called for sustained enforcement to keep the commercial streets free of encroachments.