Eateries, hawkers remain an eyesore in Pondy Bazaar

Haphazard parking damages the newly laid pavements

Roads leading to the pedestrian plaza in Pondy Bazaar on Theagaraya Road were spruced up to be on a par with the plaza. However, work came to a standstill after the announcement of election. The pavements that were laid just a few months ago have been damaged, thanks to indiscriminate parking of cars. Another sore point are the roadside eateries that have sprung up all along Venkatnarayana Road and the hawkers along the “no hawker zone” on Sivaprakasam Street off Theagaraya Road. Even the larger grocery shops spread their wares on the footpath. On some stretches of Venkatnararyana Road, the entire pavement had been taken over by the eateries pushing pedestrian again to the road. On Sivaprakasam Street nearly a dozen hawkers do brisk business through the day.