Commercial road, Ooty

Commercial road is an important roadway passing through foothills[1] in the township of Ooty, Tamil Nadu. The road is characterized by busy pedestrian[2] and road traffic.[3] As the name suggests, the road is an important commercial hub of the town.[1] The most important junction on the road is Charring cross, which is considered to be one of the most important[4] and beautiful places in Ooty.[5] The region adjoining the roadway houses various commercial establishments[6] like Kairali, a Handicrafts Development Corporation of Kerala showroom.[7]

Events

Night time view of Adam's fountain in Charring cross
Night time view of Adam's fountain in Charring cross

A famous procession event of Santa Claus, called Santa Comes to Town,[8] is held on the roadway annually during Christmas season. The event has been carried out on the roadway since 1985. It is organised by Needle Industries (India) Private Limited, based in Ketti. The procession is characterized by Santa Claus riding a sleigh along the roadway distributing hundreds[9] of colourful balloons to children.[9] Many tourists from across the globe attend the procession annually.[9] Other notable events on the roadway include book fairs held annually.[10]

Footpath concerns

The road has had concerns over congestion in the footpath adjoining the road due to vegetable sale outlets being run on the footpath. As the pedestrian traffic is high on the footpath, these vegetable sale outlets had added to the congestion in addition to increasing the risk of injury to the pedestrians. Concerns of environmental damage had also been raised as these illegal sales outlets promote banned plastic carry bags. This issue also has had an effect on the business routine of regular authorized shopkeepers and retailers near the roadway.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Eagan, J.S.C (1916). The Nilgiri Guide And Directory (1st ed.). Osmania University: The S.P.C.K Press.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Radhakrishnan, D (Mar 7, 2011). "Queen of hill stations cries for facelift". The Hindu. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Ooty hill station". dhyansanjivani.org. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
  4. ↑ "NILGIRIS DISTRICT - EXTRACT OF RULE 4(1)(b) OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2005.". tnpolice.gov.in. Retrieved Aug 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ Swaminathan, K.P. (Jul 14, 2008). "Nilgiris ruined". The Hindu. Retrieved Aug 11, 2011.
  6. ↑ Special Correspondent (Oct 2, 2007). "‘Implementation of Sethusamudram project will put the State on road to progress’". The Hindu. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  7. ↑ Special Correspondent (Dec 17, 2010). "Handicrafts worth Rs. 20,000 cr. exported last year". The Hindu. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  8. ↑ Radhakrishnan, D. (Dec 18, 2010). "Tamil Nadu News : Santa Claus procession taken out amid security in Ooty". The Hindu. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Radhakrishnan, D. (Dec 15, 2010). "Santa comes calling in Ooty". The Hindu. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  10. ↑ "4th Ooty Book Fair 2010". Islamic Foundation Trust. Retrieved Aug 11, 2011.