NOIDA: Khushboo Sachdeva, an assistant vice-president at a career guidance firm, had just stepped into her office when someone told her that her car was being towed away. That was not the first time she had parked her car at the marketplace — everyone else did so.
Sachdeva, who had returned to her Noida office after months, rushed to her car and pleaded with the driver of the crane towing away her vehicle that she did not know about the new parking rules. After sustained requests, the crane driver let her car go. She was also not fined Rs 1,000 for wrong parking.
Another stretch nearby was lined up with motorcycles, with a poster in Hindi saying “Rs 25 for two hours and Rs 25 for every subsequent hour”. Here, too, cranes were picking up the bikes in clutches and taking them to the multilevel parking. Owners will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 for four-wheelers and Rs 250 for two-wheelers and release their vehicles.
The whip on surface parking is part of Noida Authority’s efforts to make the Sector 18 market a vehicle-free zone. The move is also aimed at getting visitors to use the multilevel parking, which has not been seeing enough vehicles ever since it was constructed. Shoppers, however, have objected to the decision not to let them park near the market, pointing out that the multilevel parking is at a little distance and not many know about it.
“How is one supposed to know about the new rules? There is no signage, nor are there any announcements being made. I parked here because there were other cars. I would take the Metro from Dwarka before the lockdown. I drove to Noida after a long time,” Sachdeva said.
Parking points in the main shopping area have been reduced from October 3, when the policy was enforced by the Authority. As against 45 parking spots for four-wheelers earlier, there are only 34 now. Two-wheeler parking points are also down to 7 from 12. At the same time, to encourage shopowners and visitors to park only at the multilevel parking, the Authority has slashed the monthly fee to Rs 600 for four-wheelers and Rs 300 for bikes and scooters. Despite the discounts, visitors have been parking at the main market area.
“For years, people who came here for business and other work parked their vehicles along the walkways. Now, the bikes and cars are getting towed away in minutes. In the absence of any signboard or announcements, how will people know about the changed parking rule?” asked Pervez Khan, a showroom employee.
The traffic police department said it was the Authority that decided on the parking rules. “Since parking is maintained by the Noida Authority, the regulations, too, are its responsibility,” said Ganesh Saha, DCP (traffic).
Authority officials said they would slowly phase out surface parking. “We have started reducing the number of parking points. At the multilevel parking, we have made the rates reasonable enough for shopowners who need to use it regularly. People should use it” an official said.
While the fee for surface parking is Rs 50 for the first two hours for four-wheelers, it is Rs 20 for two hours at the multilevel parking. Similarly, for bikes, the rate is Rs 25 for two hours in the market area, while it is only Rs 10 at the multilevel facility.
But why hasn’t the low rates attracted visitors? “People don’t want to be inconvenienced. If someone is coming to the market for a quick trip, they don’t want to struggle so much for a parking spot,” said Sushil Kumar Jain, president of the Sector 18 market owners’ association.