NOIDA: Metro commuters using the parking facility at
Okhla Bird Sanctuary station have to face a lot of inconvenience due to inadequate parking space.
The newly built station seems to have enough vacant space inside its premises, but in reality there is space for only 150 vehicles in the parking lot. Commuters say the parking lot gates get shut as early as 8.10 am as there is little space for parking.
While commuters rue that lack of planning and underestimated parking demand was behind the problem of inadequate space, the parking contractor had recently started using the pathway from gate number three of the metro station till its main gate near the road towards Kalindi Kunj. “This gate remains shut always as its opening is towards the road to Kalindi Kunj. We had started allowing parking of vehicles in this pathway around 10 days back, but the
DMRC imposed a fine of around Rs 16,000 for using non-designated space for parking,” a parking attendant told TOI.
Waqil Malik, a Delhi university student who uses the parking facility regularly, said the slot available is far less than the other metro stations. “Since I am a regular metro user, I can say that the parking space available here is far less than what the metro stations in Delhi and Botanical Garden. Moreover, parking attendants close the gates arbitrarily,” he said.
Ravi Kumar, a resident of Sector 137, said that the parking facility was “horrible.” “It is so difficult to bring the vehicle out of the parking lot, it takes around 10-15 minutes,” he said.
About 10 days back, the contractor started allowing parking in the pathway area, but the DMRC apparently levied a fine. “The DMRC says that the passage cannot be used for parking vehicles as it is used as a passage for fire tender exit in case of an emergency,” said Manish Kaushik, the contractor for parking facility. There is vacant space available near gate number 2 of the metro station too, but the same is reserved for auto-rickshaws and taxis which pick up and drop off passengers there.
A statement from DMRC said it had come to their notice and that of the CISF recently that vehicles were being parked on the Fire Tender Road surrounding the station building.
“CISF pointed out that the parking of vehicles in this area was a security concern as the vehicles were not mirror checked as is done for vehicles parked in the DMRC parking. Also, the vehicles were parked haphazardly and were a safety hazard as the area had to be left clear for fire tenders, etc. in case of emergencies,” it said.
