Chennai, Feb 15: Tansi Nagar Welfare Association is taking efforts to get a market for Velacheri.
The association’s members met former MLA and MP of the locality to get their support for setting up the market place.
A member of Street Vendors Committee, M Balakrishnan said, ”The population of Zone 13 is 4,58,852. We are in one of the largest constituencies in the city. Despite being a big residential area, the people here do not have a market place.”
Currently, Velacheri has an excess of vendors occupying all main stretches of of the neighbourhood and making it difficult for motorists and pedestrians. Traffic jams are also caused due to this perinnial issue.
Citing High Court and Supreme court orders, Balakrishnan says the vendors are not allowed to be vacated, instead a space has to be allocated to them.
In Zone 13, there are 4,000 vendors. After the committee was formed, 1,500 of them were given identity cards by the civic body. As per the committee, the other vendors were asked to shift to other zones.
This is when the idea of having a market came up. It has also been a long pending need for the residents of wards 178, 179 and 180.
Balakrishnan says, ”We met former MLA M K Ashok and former Member of Parliament, J Jayavardhan recently. We suggested that the Dhandeeswaram temple land at Third Main Road, Dhandeeswaram can be used as a market.”
Both Ashok and Jayavardhan extended support and said they would give references from their side to the HR and CE Minister, Sevur Ramachandran and Corporation Commissioner G Prakash.
Ashok said he would accompany the association members to meet the Minister.