• Rampant footpath, road encroachment between 101 Ganapathy Temple Circle and M.V. Srinivasan Circle near SMT Hospital
• Authorities turn blind eye as motorists, pedestrians continue to suffer

Mysore/Mysuru: The footpath and road along an one kilo-metre stretch from 101 Ganapathy Circle in Agrahara to M.V. Srinivasan Circle (Five Lights Circle) near Seth Mohandas Tulsidas (SMT) Maternity Hospital in city has turned into a chock-a-block, with rampant footpath and road encroachments, leaving the motorists and pedestrians fuming throughout the day.

The very stretch of road passes through Gaadi Chowka, Kanaka Circle (Nanjumalige Circle) in Nanjumalige and connects to a wide stretch of Manandavadi Road (H.D. Kote Road), splitting towards JLB Road at M.V. Srinivasan Circle.

However, it is about 40 years since the issue persists, with the shop-keepers occupying a significant portion of footpath especially between Gaadi Chowka, Kanaka Circle and M.V. Srinivasan Circle and the parallel road, now spilling on to the road too, but the authorities concerned turn a blind eye, after conducting a clearance drive for the sake of doing a perfunctory job.

The hustle and bustle at M.V. Srinivasan Circle have aggravated ever since the push cart vendors started setting up make-shift stalls, occupying a significant portion of the footpath stretching towards JLB Road. Strangely, a bus stop and cycle docking station is also located at the same spot, but the users are at the mercy of vendors to spare the space for easy access of public facilities.

Nanjappa Building is a good old commercial complex with shops, from which the area earned its sobriquet Nanjumalige (meaning Nanjappa’s Stall). It is in a dilapidated condition, but the tenants are in no mood to vacate for the fear of losing the business that has passed generations.

It is also said that some of the tenants have moved Court against the building owner, claiming ownership of the shops.

On the other hand, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar and Krishnaraja MLA T.S. Srivatsa conducted a meeting with traders, but their appeal against footpath encroachment went in vain.

 As this particular stretch of Manandavadi Road passing through Nanjumalige winds towards new extensions, it witnesses heavy traffic density throughout the day.

The either side of the road, with Narayana Shastri Road located on the other side, is a narrow stretch with two-lane traffic movement permitted. When the pedestrians too are forced to take the road with footpath occupied by the shop-keepers, imagine the hurdle faced on traffic front.

KSRTC buses, private transport operators including buses and shuttle vans operating between Mysuru-H.D. Kote and the rural parts of Mysuru taluk, also provide a stoppage at Nanjumalige Circle and M.V. Srinivasan Circle.

The SMT Hospital that caters to rural women the most, is frequented by ambulances, which zip past at times depending on the emergency cases. The traffic jam at M.V. Srinivasan Circle has become the order of the day, with vehicles stranded up in a circular form, with no way out.

MLA T.S. Srivatsa said, there are some technical issues which need to be addressed, until then there is no permanent solution at sight. If any action is taken to clear the footpath encroachment, what can be the alternative for the vendors, is the question. Nobody can escape the fate,  he noted.