JOIN USRoad work hits businesses on Church St
Church Street has been dug up since February for TenderSURE work and businesses in the area are bearing the brunt of dust, chaos and loss of customers.
Owners of shops in the area say that progress of work has been slower than expected and with high rents, if the 6-month deadline is not met, many of them could face the threat of closing down.
“After the Cauvery riots in September 2016 and demonetisation in November 2016, business was already slow. It was picking up after January 2017. Then they began the construction work and we now have half the customers we used to have,” said Nithin, manager of a restaurant on Church Street.
He said that the restriction on parking and dust are deterring customers from coming to the area. “It’s been more than two months and the work is going on slowly. I have heard people say that it could take up to a year to complete the work. It is difficult for us to keep the place running and pay staff,” he said.
Retail stores, restaurants and pubs on the road are seeing half the daily business they used to, said Irfan Noor, secretary, Church Street Occupants’ Association. “We are grateful to MLA N A Haris, for stopping the move to block traffic on this road. If they had closed it off, this place would have been like a graveyard with hardly any people,” he said.
Noor says that business was expected to go down, but it has reduced more than expected. “They dug up the path right in front of my garment store and have just put a plank for people to cross the pit and enter. Customers go away because it looks unsafe to them. I told the contractor to close a portion of it temporarily, like they did in other places, but he is giving excuses,” Noor said.
Pedestrians are also staying away from the street which is known for its weekend social scene. “I always go to browse books in Book Worm and Blossoms. Ever since they dug it up, I have stopped going. Even book release events are not happening there. People drive in with fancy cars, while for pedestrians, it is a deathtrap,” said Rachel Vaz, a student.
DH News Service