On South Mada Street in Mylapore, traffic police personnel are taking a “strict line” against encroachment of the carriageway. They show up regularly to make sure vendors do not park their wares beyond the white line and take up space that belongs to motorists and pedestrians. The police personnel’s task seems never-ending as the vendors push themselves behind the line when asked to, only to violate it a couple of days later, necessitating a revisit by the khaki-clad personnel.

Murugan, a spinach vendor in South Mada Street, says he has laid his shop inside the white line as the traffic police have politely requested the vendors to not exceed the white line as the traffic gets really bad during peak hours. Jayanthi a vegetable vendor also says that they have laid their shops well within the white line as they want to make sure that they do not create a traffic chaos in market. But most of the vendors of Chitrakulam West Street and East Mada Street do not follow this and hence creates traffic.

The traffic police were seen regulating vendors on East Mada Street as well.

Report by Srinath M