Date:11/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/11/stories/2006111114870400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Summons to police, Corporation Commissioner

Special Correspondent

PIL petition to declare Madley subway "no vending and no parking area"

CHENNAI : The Madras High Court has summoned two Deputy Commissioners of Police and the Chennai Corporation Commissioner to be present in court on November 15, in connection with a public interest litigation.

The public interest litigation seeks to declare the Madley Road subway in T. Nagar as a "no vending and no parking area."

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice K. Chandru, issued summonses to the DCPs of traffic and law and order wings of T. Nagar police district and the Corporation Commissioner, on the petition filed by Madley Road Civic Exnora honorary secretary M.M. Abdul Khader.

The petitioner has sought a direction to the authorities to maintain the service roads on both sides of the Madley subway and the U-turn facility on the T. Nagar side as "no-vending, no-parking and tow area" to ensurea free flow of vehicular traffic and pedestrian movement in the region.

Heavy traffic

He said the subway witnessed a heavy traffic flow daily as it connected T. Nagar and West Mambalam with Ashok Nagar.

The area was fully encroached upon by wholesale vegetable merchants, who parked heavy motor vehicles and commercial vehicles on the service roads.

If questioned, their henchmen intimidated local residents, the petitioner submitted.

Claiming that the respondent-authorities remained silent spectators despite being fully aware of the situation, the petitioner said not a single case had been registered for violation of rules.

The petitioner also sought a ban on the functioning on the wholesale perishable market in the area as per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Specified Commodities Markets (Regulation of Location) Act 1996.