The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : In Perambur, a market makes life intolerable for locals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

In Perambur, a market makes life intolerable for locals

By Swahilya

A virtual roadblock at the entrance of Tulasingam Street in Perambur with milk crates, fruits and vegetables causing hardship for residents.

CHENNAI, MARCH 15. Anyone looking for Tulasingam Street off Bharathi Salai in Perambur, won't have to look too hard. One has to just walk up to the Perambur Fruit and Vegetable Market and find the pathway totally blocked by fruit, vegetable and flower vendors - that's Tulasingam street.

In one apartment complex, residents can barely open the gate. Stacked on one side are Aavin supply trays, makeshift vegetable and fruit stalls, a shop that sells fresh flowers, garlands, turmeric, kumkum and other items. On the other side of the road adjacent to the market, there is a heap of putrefying vegetables.

This vegetable market has put the residents, mainly senior citizens, to a great deal of misery. The manager issues instructions to workers through a public address system, often using foul language. The public address system is switched on as early as 2 a.m. and operates throughout the day. When instructions are not being shouted, the system blares with film music.

When residents complained about the noise, they were told to stuff cotton in their ears. Adding to the bedlam are the flashing decorative lights. The residents also complain of a total lack of privacy. The road space, which is used for loading and unloading fruits and vegetables, blocks residents from getting in or out of their homes.

"Even when a member of our family passed away, we could not take the dead body through the main entrance of the street into Bharathi Salai," said a resident.

The nonchalant response of the market authorities to any complaint is: "If you are finding it difficult to stay here, you are welcome to settle in Udhagamandalam or Kodaikanal."

To make things worse, a departmental store opposite the market is competing to sell fruits and vegetables, loudly hawking them and encroaching on the remaining part of the road.

Complaints to the police and the Chennai Corporation have been of little avail, residents say.

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