Anyone tracking the history of Link Road (which connects Binny Road and Dams Road), even perfunctorily, might want to weigh in with an observation pertinent to the ongoing powwow about demarcating vending and non-vending zones across Chennai.
The road girdles the Cooum in a clasp that is usually far from savoury to the eyes: Along the compound wall that marks the boundary between the waterway and Link Road, there are mounds of debris, and other carelessly-thrown waste. Link Road has reason to be somewhat proud of its other side, which has the office of the electricity board. The road is also called EB Road, which is more common than any of its half-a-dozen other names, which include Binny Link Road. Even on this side, vehicles can be found parked. Behind those parked vehicles — some of them rundown and abandoned — there are glimpses of an old exercise by the Corporation to create a space for hawkers.
The initiative dates back to 2011. On the masonry compound walls, numbers assigned to the hawkers were painted. These numbers — going up to 171 — remain to this day in a faded form. No sooner had the exercise been launched than its charm faded. The hawkers from Anna Salai who had been relocated to Link Road by the Corporation were straining at the leash, seeking to get back to their old haunts.
The Link Road hardly registered footfall, resulting in little business. From birth to death, the initiative had as long a span as Solomon Grundy. Cognisant of the issues faced by the traders, the Corporation did not make any attempt to resuscitate it, allowing it to die a natural death.
It is for these same reasons Link Road has not figured in any form in this ongoing exercise. The faded numbers on the compound wall remain a refreshing memory of the times that were.
