No hawkers on NSC Bose road: Madras High court

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, before which a petition filed by social activist Traffic Ramasamy came up for hearing, said: “We direct the Corporation Commissioner of Chennai, and Additional Commissioner of Police, Chennai city traffic, to take necessary action and ensure that the area is cleared of all encroachments and is maintained as no hawking zone area.”

In the petition, Ramasamy, submitted that Corporation had allowed vendors on the stretch. This was against the Apex court order. He sought direction from the court to direct the authorities to remove the encroachments. "We agree with the submission of the petitioner that there is no question of any hawking in the no-hawking zone area, especially when the earlier hawkers had been rehabilitated," the judges said.The bench said the persons currently occupying the pavements are not entitled to do so, whether they are earlier hawkers or new ones. The apex court order must be complied with in letter and spirit. Directing the Corporation to depute officers to the area to monitor the situation so that the menace does not recur, the bench asked the Corporation to furnish photographic proof.