Bhadra pedestrian space now paid parking

AHMEDABAD: A large pedestrian space within the Bhadra Plaza has been turned into a pay-and-park facility by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
The move comes after the civic body made several attempts to remove encroachments and illegal vendors from the plaza complex — which is part of the Unesco World Heritage core area. “Only a small portion of the plaza is parking,” said a senior AMC official who is with the central zone office.

“No matter how many times we removed these vendors, the came back again,” he said. The plaza, which was meant to be for pedestrians, had turned into large hawkers’ zone. According to the civic body, the strategy works as most of the plaza is cleared and there is optimum utilization of space.

After the AMC installed banners with parking charges, there was resentment among local residents. K.A Mansoori, a street vendor, said: “The AMC has forcefully removed shops which has affected the livelihoods of many poor people who were employed by the vendors.” He said there is parking space in the zilla panchayat building and Relief Road. “Some of those who lose jobs may turn to crime,” he said.

Another vendor, Ali Haider Pokhar, said: “The move will ruin our Ramzan festivities as we will not be able to meet our daily expenses.” Congress’s minority committee member, Umar Khan, said that vending spaces can be allotted outside the Karanj police station where there are several unused spaces. He said another space lies just opposite the Bhadrakali temple. “We believe that a night market during Ramzan from evening 6pm to 2am at Bhadra will not only reduce traffic but will also be the perfect solution to this issue,” he said. Police inspector of Karanj, F M Nayab, said: “A few days ago, the vendors had held a rally. There will be police presence within the Bhadra Plaza till the issue is settled.”