Chennai: At least 150 eateries, fancy stalls, and merchandise stalls encroaching on the busy commercial streets of T Nagar were removed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Wednesday. They included 52 shops on Ranganathan Street, 40 each from Natesan Street and Mambalam Market, and 20 shops from Rameshwaram Street.Corporation officials said the crackdown followed complaints from road-users that the stalls extended about four feet onto the streets, reducing the walking space. The pathway to Mambalam junction gets too crowded, creating a stampede-like situation, especially in the evening from 6 to 8.30pm.“Removal of these encroachments is a welcome move by GCC,” said K Rajesh Kumar, a regular commuter from T Nagar.“The entire Ranganathan Road stretch was fully occupied by hawkers. There was no pathway for emergency vehicles such as ambulances or fire engines to pass through. We initially warned the hawkers to remove the encroachments and move to the vending zones allotted by GCC, but they were hesitant to leave their shops,” said C Eniyan, Zone 10 Executive Engineer. “We used 1 mini-earthmover, 6 lorries, and 1 earth mover to clear the encroachments. Soon, the encroachments on South Usman Road and the service road will also be removed,” he added.“After several complaints, the GCC finally responded and removed the long-standing encroachments in T Nagar. However, the hawkers will eventually come back, occupy their spaces again, and cause trouble on the street by selling expired samosas and food items to the public. A permanent solution must be found to stop the hawkers from returning,” said T Radhakrishnan, a member of the T Nagar Residents’ Association.Deputy mayor M Mahesh Kumar said, “the town vending committee’s election dates have been finalised, and the list of vending and non-vending zones has been updated. Soon, a drive will be organised by the Greater Chennai Corporation to shift hawkers to the vending zone.” Illegal encroachments will be continuously removed in the coming days, he added.