CHANDIGARH: Considering the festival season ahead, the two citizen associations propose special
parking arrangements at main markets.
The Federation of Sector Welfare Associations of Chandigarh (Foswac) and Chandigarh Residents Associations' Welfare Federation (Crawfed) have suggested these arrangements for the market of Sectors 8, 9, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 34, and 35, where the commuters turnout in huge numbers every festival season. In the proposal given to the municipal corporation, they have asked for converting nearby school grounds into temporary parking lots for visitors like previous years so that they can avoid the chaos of the marketplaces.
Foswac general secretary J S
Gogia said: "In the past also, the traffic police and the MC have tried out this formula jointly but only for one or two days around
Diwali, even though the festival season starts much earlier. The association will also take the proposal to the police department for proper execution of the plan." Crawfed president Hitesh Puri said the parking system in the city needed a management plan so that commute during the festival season was easy. He said: "Our association will meet the MC and traffic police officials so that the residents of these thronged sectors do not face any problem in the festive season."
Members of both associations claimed to have noticed in past that lack of publicity of the special parking arrangements had failed the purpose of the plan, to the extent that on a handful of visitors used the parking space made available at the schools. Even though the UT traffic police deployed Home Guards personnel and own force to guide the commuters but much of the shoppers' crowd was unaware of the facility.
The associations also proposed that in Sectors 18, 19 and 22, the Home Guards personnel be deployed on roadsides to guide the commuters where to park their vehicles (in the nearby government schools or elsewhere). Since this decision of the creating additional parking space near major markets came late every festive season, the commuters were not much happy about it. One of the shopkeepers in Sector 22, Deepak, said: "This plan should be converted into a policy by the UT traffic police. Every festival season, the schools' parking lots should be opened to commuters coming over to the main markets that received the maximum rush."
Traffic jams in the residential and commercial areas of Sector 22 have become so severe that local residents often don't get any parking space near their own houses and market.
Every festival season, the civic authorities concerned allow visitors to park their vehicles in nearby schools. It eases the rush in the market's parking lots, but residents want this practice carried on for the entire year, so that commuters get used to it. "Why enforce this rule for only the festivals?" a resident said. Sharing their problems with TOI, local residents said this traffic chaos had disrupted their daily routine. The number of four-wheelers has multiplied in the city and the civic authorities have not made any parking arrangements for the added set of cars and two-wheelers.