Residents of T. Nagar are calling upon the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to address congestion issues in their area ahead of the Deepavali festival. They express dissatisfaction with the recently inaugurated skywalk, asserting that it has failed to alleviate the crowd on Ranganathan Street. Instead, residents are urging the civic body to focus on clearing encroachments from various streets in T. Nagar to create more space for pedestrians.
V.S. Jayaraman, from the T. Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, emphasized that encroachments on roads, such as Ranganathan Street, Natesan Street, and Railway Border Road, are the root cause of the problem. The T. Nagar skywalk, touted as the longest in the State, was constructed to reduce congestion on several streets and accommodate thousands of pedestrians daily.
However, residents have found that the reality does not match these expectations, especially during holidays and festivals when shoppers inundate the area. Typically, officials used to clear encroachments before Deepavali, but this year, no such action has been taken, leaving residents concerned about the upcoming festival. While some commuters find the skywalk beneficial for reaching the bus stand from commercial areas in T. Nagar, it remains to be seen whether the GCC will take further steps to decongest the area effectively.