Lorry owners, drivers urge Salem Corporation to provide new stand on city outskirts

Lorry owners and drivers in Salem urge the Corporation to construct a new lorry stand on the city outskirts to reduce traffic congestion and prevent accidents. The existing stand at Shevapet has been functioning for over 60 years, but lacks space to accommodate more lorries. The State Lorry Owners Federation has requested the Corporation and State government to provide an alternative place with basic amenities. Drivers are forced to park lorries on service roads due to high parking charges in private lots. Corporation officials say action will be taken based on feasibility.

Lorry owners and drivers here have urged the Salem Corporation to construct a new lorry stand on the city outskirts and shift the existing facility from Shevapet.

The lorry stand at Shevapet, popularly known as the lorry market, is functioning for over 60 years. As the number of lorries and other vehicles increased, the Salem Corporation decided to shift the lorry stand from Shevapet to the outskirts of the city to reduce traffic congestion in the locality and prevent accidents. But there was no positive progress in this regard, and still, lorries use that stand, which does not have enough space to accommodate more lorries. As a result, most trucks are parked on Shevapet Main Road in front of the Shevapet stand.

According to the State Lorry Owners Federation (SLOF) of Tamil Nadu president, C. Dhanaraj, per day, 2,000 lorries enter and exit Shevapet locality, as hundreds of wholesale shops, Goodshed, and Leigh Bazaar are situated around the Shevapet lorry stand. In 2007, the Salem Corporation showed a 15-acre site near Sagoserve.

“We also expressed our willingness to that place. Now 16 years have passed, and we have also submitted petitions to the government. Even after the DMK came to power in 2021, we submitted petitions,” Mr. Dhanaraj said.

Pointing out that parking charges are high in private parking lots, Mr. Dhanaraj said that due to poor parking facilities at the Shevapet lorry stand, drivers parked the lorries on service roads on the National Highway, which is risky. The Federation urged the Salem Corporation and the State government to provide an alternative place for lorry stand and to provide basic amenities like bathrooms and drinking water. The Corporation shall collect a nominal fee for lorry parking, Mr. Dhanaraj added.

V. Kandasamy, a lorry driver, said the stand had space for only 100 lorries and was infested with snakes. The toilet facilities were not enough, and for many days, they were closed. At the Shevapet stand, ₹40 was collected for a day per lorry.

At private stands, the toll was ₹100 a day. Considering the traffic congestion in and around Shevapet and accidents, the government should shift the lorry stand from Shevapet, Mr. Kandasamy added.