Encroachments on Mada Streets in Tiruvannamalai razed for Karthigai Deepam festival

Tiruvannamalai: Encroachments on Mada Streets around Arunachaleswar temple demolished to provide more road space for pilgrims during Karthigai Deepam festival. Revenue officials led drive to raze petty shops, roadside eateries, and extensions of existing shops. Concrete road laying underway to provide relief to devotees, help pilgrims access town during festival season.

Encroachments, mostly roadside outlets and extension of existing shops, on all four Mada Streets around Arunachaleswar temple in Tiruvannamalai town were demolished on Tuesday to provide more road space for pilgrims during Karthigai Deepam festival, which will be celebrated from November 14-30. 

Along with State Highways, officials of the Department of Revenue led by R. Mandakini, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), Tiruvannamalai division, led the drive on Tuesday. Most of the existing 30-feet Mada Street, which is around 500 metres in distance, have been encroached by shops.

“As more visitors are expected to visit the town during festival season, encroachments will be razed on Tuesdays and Fridays on these four stretches,” Ms. Mandakini told The Hindu.

At present, on an average, each Mada street has at least 150 shops on both sides of the stretch. Most of the encroachments are located on the newly constructed concrete storm water drains of these stretches. Bikes and cycles are parked on the carriageway of these stretches. It blocks easy movement of pedestrians to the temple and its surrounding areas. 

Alongside, demolition of petty shops, roadside eateries was also carried out. Local traders put up plastic chairs and tables along the Mada Streets and on girivalam route, and have been running business right on the tiled footpaths for the past few months. More than 300 such extensions of existing shops had been identified and eviction of these shops were underway.

Revenue officials said that on an average, Tiruvannamalai town gets around three lakh visitors on Chitra Pournami days and 1.5 lakh tourists on weekends. During Maha Deepam festival last December (2022), around 40 lakh visitors came to the town. The temple and Girivalam path is located at the foot of Annamalai Hills.

Currently, concrete road laying is underway on Mada Streets to provide relief to devotees, who use the existing pothole-ridden stretch to reach the temple. The ₹15-crore work, which is being done by the State Highways, will be completed before the Karthigai Deepam=. All these efforts were aimed at providing provide the pilgrims easy access to the town during festival season, revenue officials said.