Chennai: A key arterial stretch outside Madras high court was taken over by parked vehicles, with scores of advocates barricading portions of NSC Bose Road to station their cars, crippling traffic and pushing pedestrians onto the carriageway.While two lanes along the high court campus were long used for parking, TOI on Wednesday found cars occupying a third lane as well, eating into what little remained of the two-lane NSC Bose Road. The situation worsened on the opposite side, where two- and four-wheelers were parked continuously up to the Prakasam Salai junction, despite prominent no-parking signs.
With advocates cordoning off parking areas using barricades, pedestrians and court visitors were left with little choice but to walk amid moving traffic. Commuters flagged weak enforcement, pointing out that while Greater Chennai Corporation permits two-lane parking along the court campus, violations on the opposite stretch went unchecked. The civic body was yet to build the proposed multi-level parking facility for advocates, announced in 2024.Advocate Sudha Ramalingam said lawyers should not be exempt from penalties. “Even advocates must be fined for parking violations. I personally paid parking fees earlier. This problem persists due to poor coordination between agencies, lack of supervision by traffic police, and the absence of a consistent parking policy. Rising vehicle numbers and inadequate designated spaces only worsened it,” she said, adding that barricades serve little purpose when vehicles are parked beyond them. She suggested developing parking near Parry’s Corner.Another advocate, N Vishwanathan, said there is parking space on the court campus and that those arriving late tend to park outside. “Vehicles near Gate 3 largely belong to nearby business establishments such as Aavin Milk outlets and notary offices. Patrol vehicles parked outside also add to congestion. Some official movements could be reduced through video conferencing,” he said.An auto driver blamed infrastructure changes, pointing to the demolition of a nearby bus stop for commercial use.”There is no proper place for buses to halt now. With elections nearing, enforcement against vehicles of influential people seems lax,” he said.Civic activist V Gopalakrishnan urged the MTC to deploy more buses to HC. “Route extensions and more buses halting here would help daily commuters,” he said. Royapuram zonal officer C Vijayababu said corrective steps were underway.
