Chennai’s business community grapples with losses as work on Metro Rail’s Phase II project continues

Chennai Metro Rail's Phase II Project construction causing significant losses and struggles for small-time vendors and business community.

When Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II Project was announced years ago, most people were visibly thrilled with the hope that it will significantly improve mobility. But the construction work and traffic diversions have wreaked havoc, not just for commuters and residents, but also for the business community in the city, with small-time vendors being the worst affected.

At numerous locations across the city, especially in shopping hubs such as T. Nagar, Purasawalkam, and Mylapore, traders have been grappling with reducing footfall and losses.

G. Thangam, who sells flowers on North Mada Street in Mylapore, says like many other small-time vendors in the area, she has suffered losses after the Metro Rail work began. “Earlier, I would be able to make around ₹300 a day, now it has dipped to ₹100 a day. We are struggling to make ends meet, but we don’t have a choice,” she says.

Traders say because of the traffic diversions, they have lost a significant amount of new customers. Nandini Velumani, who runs a textile showroom in Mylapore, says, “Regular clients know our shop and are fairly accustomed to the diversion. Hence, they come to our store. But we barely get any new customers nowadays. There is no visibility and people are not aware that our shop is here. It will help if Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) places a board near the barricades, indicating the list of shops which are nearby.”

Many traders at Vadapalani say that after the barricades were put up, customers prefer to shop in other locations with parking facilities. A cloth shop owner at Vadapalani says: “My brother also had a shop nearby, but now, he is using that place as a godown and has shifted the consignments to my place. Since these are our own shops we cannot move out easily such as those in rented units.”

Sethuraman, who runs a small fancy store in T. Nagar, points out that many small shops have either closed or moved to nearby locations such as Pondy Bazaar. “There were several small roadside shops here selling dolls and jewellery. Now, all of them have closed down,” he says, and adds, “Earlier shops around the T. Nagar bus stand will always have around five to 10 customers, even during the lean time, but now there are hardly two to three customers even during peak hours.”

Shopkeepers say that when business is slow, it becomes difficult to pay rent and electricity bills. Business owners say that with less income, it has also become difficult for them to pay wages for workers.