The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started a removal action focusing on buildings along the service roads of the Chennai-Bengaluru highway area in Vellore, Tamil Nadu as part of efforts to make the traffic flow clear and to make the road safer along the busy highway between states.
The Issue
Service roads next to highways are created to give local people, shops and slow vehicles a way to move without having to go on the main road. This helps keep the road for fast-moving traffic.. Over time some service roads in many parts of India have been taken over by illegal buildings. These include shops, areas for parking and extensions of buildings that make the service roads narrower.
In Vellore the buildings along the Chennai-Bengaluru highway have grown over years. This has made the service roads smaller than they should be. The smaller roads often cause traffic jams because cars that should use the service road end up on the road. This also makes it dangerous for people walking and for moving vehicles.
Why NHAI Is Doing This
Actions to remove buildings are usually done by NHAI because people complain about traffic jams and safety issues. Sometimes courts also ask for this after people say that these buildings are making the roads unsafe. In parts of the country similar actions only happen after the courts tell the local government to help NHAI with the removal.
The removal action in Vellore is part of a situation across India. When people build on the service roads it often leads to a need for action. This action involves people from the highway authority, local police and sometimes local government workers to make sure it is done properly.
The Situation in the Chennai-Bengaluru Area
Vellore is on an important highway that connects Chennai and Bengaluru two of the biggest cities in South India. This highway has had a lot of building work in years. One big project is the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, which is 258 kilometers long and goes through several states, including Vellore. With this new expressway the old national highway is still the main road for a lot of traffic between the two states. Keeping the service roads clear is very important for managing all this traffic.
How This Type of Action Usually Works
NHAI usually works with police and a judge to make sure that the removal of buildings is done legally. They use machines like JCBs to take down the buildings. These buildings are often shops, parking areas and other structures built on highway land without permission.
These actions usually happen in parts taking one section at a time. This is because it takes a lot of planning and coordination between groups to make sure the removal is done safely and correctly.
What This Means for People Using the Road
For people who live near Vellore on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway making the service roads clear is important. It helps reduce the traffic on the road makes it safer for local traffic and people walking and makes travel faster. Traffic jams caused by buildings have been linked to accidents, on some highways. This shows why it is important to remove these buildings.
What Will Happen Next
Now that the removal action is happening in Vellore NHAI officials are likely to keep removing the buildings in the coming days. They will work with the police and government workers to make sure the action goes smoothly. The work may happen in parts targeting areas of the highway. The main goal is to make the service roads work the way they were meant to so that local traffic can move safely and without problems.
