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More room to vrooooom...
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As the city goes through an unavoidable makeover to cope with the increasing demand for space, some famous landmarks cease to be. Sangeetha Devi. K reports
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PHOTO D.GOPALAKRISHNAN
CHANGES GALORE The city's topography is likely to change with hawkers being evicted from many zones
The twin cities have, over the last few years, embarked on the journey towards becoming a metro. In the process, a few landmarks that have distinguished these quaint twins from the others have been wiped away. Initiatives meant to decongest roads and pavements are irreversibly changing the city's topography.
`Chaat' station
An evening of shopping at General Bazaar would have earlier been incomplete without tucking in mouth-watering chaat from the chaatwallahs on James Street. Their's wasn't gourmet fare, but extremely inviting nevertheless. Today, while a large red building that houses an MNC fast food chain grins at you, the chaawallahs have been relegated to the narrow bylanes. A couple of them have set shops in the adjacent buildings. The rest are active only in the late afternoons and evenings. Their business isn't that brisk anymore.
Anand, a teenager who runs a chaat and fruit juice centre, is one of the luckier few. "We have our own shop so haven't faced much of a problem. Those who have makeshift shops suffer the most. Since they've been barred from selling on the pavements of M.G. Road, their business has taken a beating."
A few kilometeres away, the Secunderabad station and its vicinity remain crowded as ever. But soon, if MCH officials have their way, commuters will have more room for vroom. At the receiving end will be hawkers who dot the stretch from the Alfa Hotel to YMCA. Mind you, this bazaar isn't for the well-heeled. Mostly frequented by travellers, the bazaar has inexpensive wares - towels, bedsheets, t-shirts, raincoats, windcheaters and the likes.
Bazaar bargains
The hawkers here have already begun feeling the heat. They claim that their business remains unhindered if they shell out a small sum to the cops. While most hawkers clam up, others are forthcoming. Mohammad Afzal gets his `maal' — cotton towels, tablemats and socks — from wholesale dealers. His typical day starts at around 12 noon and his wares are priced between Rs. 20 and 200. He reluctantly says, "We've been hearing about the eviction from this zone for the last two months. We run into trouble with the cops during weekends. We end up paying Rs. 100 if they issue a challan. But some cops hush up the matter if we pay them Rs. 20 or 30."
A new address?
Other parts of the city aren't exceptions either. If the landmark building that housed the erstwhile Shanbhag restaurant gave way to road widening and the restaurant moved to a modest address nearby, the Somajiguda-Greenlands stretch is the next in line. Stores like Pulla Reddy Sweets and Walden have had to forgo some of their parking space and inevitably, some customers as well. It is speculated that a few establishments in these buildings are considering moving to a new address.
A year ago, a number of stores moved similarly following the widening of road no 2 and 3, Banjara Hills and road no 36, Jubilee Hills. A couple of bottlenecks apart, the wide roads have made driving on these roads a pleasure. But the green cover and erstwhile landmarks are no more.
The makeover is perhaps inevitable but the city will never be the same again.
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