CCMC's delay in earmarking vending zones spikes encroachments on DB Rd

THE Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation's (CCMC) delay in earmarking the vending and non-vending zones across the city has led to a spike in roadside encroachments on the busy roads of the city.

- ARAVIND RAJ @ Coimbatore

The civic body spent thousands of crores for developing DB Road in RS Puram for a more pedestrian-friendly pathway. But the space has now been encroached by street vendors, resulting in traffic congestion and forcing pedestrians to navigate through moving vehicles.

The 1.8 km stretch of the Diwan Bahadur (DB) Road at RS Puram was converted into a model road under the Coimbatore Smart City Projects at a cost of about 25 crore by the civic body. Earlier, pedestrians used to walk on the 1 m wide stormwater drain platform. Later, the pedestrian pathways were extended by 4 m on both sides of the road under the smart city projects in order to ease pedestrian movement on one of the busiest roads of the city.