Udhagamandalam: While the Ooty municipality is busy identifying unauthorised buildings in the town and sealing them, denizens want to know what stops it from taking action against major encroachments on the Ettinne’s Road and Walsham Road, besides other roads in the hill town Ettinne’s Road, stretching to around 2km, is meant for heavy vehicles, while the state highways passing through the Commercial Road is free of heavy vehicles. Walking on the Ettinne’s Road is a nightmare, pedestrians say. Footpaths on both the sides have been eaten up by encroachers. Garages and workshops line the Walsham Road.Both the roads are under the control of the Ooty municipality. “In the last few months, the Ooty municipality identified several unauthorised buildings and sealed them. Their effort is appreciated. But we wonder why the municipality is always turning a blind eye to the encroachments on the footpaths on Ettinne’s Road and Walsham Road,” K Raman, a local resident, told TOI.Co-ordinator of INTACH –Nilgiris chapter Geetha Srinivasan also blamed the civic body for failing to remove encroachements along Ettinne’s Road. “Tourists come here to enjoy the ambience and the fresh mountain air. For that, the town needs footpaths on all the roads. But, except for the Commercial Road stretch, the right of pedestrians is always challenged. It is high time the municipality addressed the encroachment issues.”Town planning officer Ilango assured to take action if a complaint is received. “I don’t know if both the roads comes under our control. Till now there has been no complaint about encroachments on footpaths.”Due to the Lok Sabha election, surveyors are busy with election work, the official added.

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