Panchkula traders protest paid parking in Sector 14

Panchkula, June 14

Shopkeepers of the Sector 14 market protested against the Municipal Corporation for being biased in introducing paid parking in their market whereas there is no paid parking in any of the markets in the city.

The shopkeepers claimed the MC had introduced the paid parking in the Sector 20 market but withdrew it later after the protest by the market association and local residents.

The shopkeepers also demanded a copy of the contract from the contractor and asked the employees to stop charging visitors or they would be forced to remove their goods.

A shopkeeper, Lalit Chopra, alleged that the contractor had sublet the parking lot, which was against the terms of the contract. He asked for a GST receipt from the personnel deputed at the parking lot, which he could not give.

Shivam Bansal said if the MC wanted to set up a paid parking to increase revenue, then it should introduce the same in other markets also. Another shopkeeper, Tanya Gupta, said owing to the paid parking, the business of all shopkeepers was getting affected, as customers had started going to the Sector 11 market to avoid parking fee. She said the contractor had neither marked the parking area nor installed CCTV camera. He had also not put up a board displaying his telephone number and parking charges.

The shopkeepers claimed that the they met Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal but he had refused to withdraw the paid parking, stating that the contract had been awarded for two years. They had written to the Chief Minister through the CM window in this regard on May 19, but there was no response so far.

Traders’ grouse

• Losing business to nearby markets
• Contractor flouted rules by ‘subletting’ contract
• No rate list, CCTVs at parking lot