Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam’s temple on the busy T Nagar Venkatnarayana Road has brazenly erected steel structures on the pavements to provide shelters for devotees, and they have also blocked the pavements using steel gates on one side, and barricades on the other side
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When contacted, Greater Chennai Corporation assistant engineer Anand said the temple authorities wanted to erect only a ‘temporary’ structure till the ongoing festival and assured the local body that they would remove it by Saturday. “However, as it is obstructing pedestrians, we will get it removed,” he said. When asked, Sathyanarayana, a security person on duty at the TTD temple, told TOI that they had sought ‘permission’ from the local body and that it was erected a week ago. A police officer at Pondy Bazaar station said TTD used private barricades, and said they would instruct GCC to remove the structures, and that they would fine vehicles illegally parked on the stretch. V S Jayaraman, president of T Nagar Residents Welfare Association, said no one, including temples, should be allowed to hijack the pavements. They cannot occupy public places,” he said, and they should also employ their own people on the road to ensure traffic or pedestrians are not affected.
Chennai: Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam on Venkatnarayana Road in T Nagar has illegally taken over the pavements by erecting heavy-duty metal structures, completely blocking the pedestrian walkway. There are steel gates on one side of the pavement and barricades on the other. On top of the steel structures, they have erected sheds and are using the blocked space in between for two-wheeler parking. People walking towards Panagal Park are pushed onto the carriageway, dodging buses, autorickshaws and other four-wheelers. Temple authorities have also accumulated some police barricades and illegally use them to block space on both margins of Venkatanarayana Road when it suits them. They were permitted verbally to erect a temporary structure for a few days. TTDC built a permanent structure with concrete support, placed steel rods on the pavements and erected the shelters. Venkatnarayana Road pavements, along with GN Chetty Road and Theagaraya Road, were developed under the Smart City funds. End-to-end designer pavements with duct facilities were constructed but most of them are now damaged or encroached. “They should arrange the festival within their premises, and hire open places to park vehicles and so on. Download the TOI App.