Chennai Corporation — unauthorized platform encroachments and post corporation raid scenario

Address:

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600041

Subject: unauthorized platform encroachments and post corporation raid scenario
Dear sirs'
We are writing to you from h2, gateway apartments, 1st avenue road, thiruvanmiyur, chennai - 600041. We, includes the flat secretary mr. Nd raja, treasurer - mr. Nadhakumar, president - mr. S murugan on behalf of the 18 houses situated inside the h2 flat premises (Gateway apartments).
We would like to bring to your kind notice that the chennai corporation has recently removed the entire unauthorized encroachments (I. E. Shops) which were illegally occupied and built on the sideways of the 1'st avenue road (Which is also called new beach road) platform. This has happened on 05.03.2018 (Monday) and on 19.03.2018 (Monday). Our heartfelt, thanks to the chennai corporation for initiating such bold action now, and thanks to the police department, and tamil nadu electricity board for their support on this matter.
Following this issue, the encroachers (Platform shop keepers) on seeing some of their nearby shops being demolished by the corporation personnel, to avoid their unauthorised property too being taken to task by the corporation personnel, they have immediately shifted their belongings (For e. G. Counter desk, vegetables, compressors, generators, bunk shops, refrigerators, mobile shops) to the nearby flat premises.in this way, their encroachment still persist.
We, flat owners are continuously at loggerheads with the encroachers not to place their belongings inside our flat premises. Some shop keepers have moved on, but some still continue to keep their belongings inside our premises. Despite, even after several polite request, they are unmoved. We have now clearly understood that they are not willing to take away their belongings and move away from this area. We suspect that all these encroachers have planned for a comeback (They are believing that the appropriate authorities will become lethargic and complacent again - within a span of time) and hence they can re-install their respective shops at the same platform, where it was previously occupied.
In the past, there are several occurrences like, the corporation personnel raid these platform shops, subsequently, the shops will be closed only for some time, and then later, within one or two days the shops will be re-opened at the same pedestrian platform again. This has given the platform vendors a wrong confidence against the law.
Considering the amount of time and money exercised by the corporation & police personnel on 05.03.2018 and 19.03.2018, we felt that it should not go futile, and with high social and civil responsibility, we are writing this letter / email to you, which is as follows;
In case, if these shops are allowed to be retained at their previous encroachments, it shall also pave way for a series of following incidences which we have already overheard in this area, which may also happen again.
1. The platform should be used by the people (Pedestrians) who commute by foot. But this has hardly happened for the last 12 years on this 1st avenue road / new beach road, because of these encroached shops. Their platform shop patrons have always parked their vehicles in front of housing board flat's gates, city corporation children's park gate, in front of licensed shops, and sometimes on roads to the commuters utmost distress. There is a government mtc passenger bus which used to travel on this road daily, encroachments like this would have definitely made the bus drivers work difficult. We would like to request the road transport officer to take note of this matter.
2. Fast food shops - there are many number of fast food shops on the platforms of this road. The food prepared here was always unhygienic / unclean and we have heard people (Mostly children) falling sick, after consuming foods at these shops. Indeed, diseases have been spread from these fast food shops. We are sad that the food safety department is not aware of, that there is a school called sri sankara matric higher secondary school which is nearby to these fast food shops. Students regularly come to these shops after school time. These shops have been allowed to operate even after 10 pm in the nights. When someone pass through these platform shops in the night, there is always an unpleasant smell of alcohol circulating out of these roadside shops.in these platforms, explicitly one can see, poor and unhygienic non vegetarian foods like beef, and chicken were used to cook these junk foods.
3. Pest & rodent - it is because of these fast food shops, food waste are generated. These food waste which being generated finally are not disposed through proper ways. We can always see the garbage container displacing an enormous amount of garbage out of the container, on the road. This has become a breeding ground for rodents and mosquitoes, which clearly spreads all sorts of communicable diseases. Stray cattle on roads and stray dogs wandering in these areas are also connected to this issue.
4. Some encroachers, in their platform shops were using small electricity generators, unauthorized electricity lines, air compressors, cooking oil, fluorescent lights (Which distracts bike and car drivers) and unauthorized gas cylinders. Without proper approval, they have been using these equipments all these days. But our concern is the probability of accidents and dangers that may happen to the children in this area.
5. It is because of these footpath shops, there were intruders, strangers roaming around all these areas without being questioned. These strangers can be seen standing in gangs, at the platform shops. Even if they were questioned, they would answer back that they had come for the pavement shop to purchase. We won't be able to distinguish between the common people and people who have a criminal record. We have heard of incidences of thefts in houses, bike theft, laptop theft, petrol being stolen from vehicles frequently, and chain snatching in the neighbourhood. We have also heard people in the neighbourhood, speaking about some incidences on children being kidnapped, and eve teasing on school students and working women that may have happened. We request the appropriate officers to look into this matter, if in case the platform encroachments remerge.
6. Finally, at some instances, we commoners are afraid to engage with these platform shopkeepers, since whenever there are petty disputes, and frictional times between the flat residents and encroachers, the encroachers always represent themselves in groups. And while discussions, they also try to bring strangers for negotiating, who obviously we do not know. We being native to these flats always wanted to go by the law and order. We completely rely on the police department.
7. We also came to know that there are many shops on the road, on the way to the thiruvanmiyur beach (Very close to the seashore), which numbers are increasing day by day. Hence we would also like to highlight these issues, so that these issues could be nipped in the bud, following their due course.
Finally, we humbly request you not to allow these platform shops to re-establish, in front of our apartment one and for all at the pedestrian platforms. Thanks.
Yours truly

Nd raja - flat secretary
Nandhakumar - treasurer
S murugan - president
H2, gateway apartments,
1st avenue road,
Thiruvanmiyur,
Chennai - 600041.