Haphazardly parked vehicles a nuisance in Ambala Cantt

Despite having parking spaces, haphazardly parked vehicles can be spotted in busy markets of Ambala Cantonment.

The congested lanes coupled with encroachments on road and unattended vehicles lead to frequent traffic jams. Commuters said that it becomes difficult to negotiate vehicles through the wrongly parked vehicles and it leads to a complete roadblock. During the VIP movement, the police and the municipal council officials get the roads cleared to ensure smooth flow of traffic but in routine, not much attention is paid. It also hampers the movement of emergency vehicles.

The vehicles can be spotted parked unattended in the busy market lanes of the Sadar area, Nicholson Road, Ram Bazaar, DC road, Mahesh Nagar area, near Municipal Council Ambala Sadar building, and even along the Ambala-Saha road (a stretch of NH-44A) in Ambala Cantonment.

Though, the Municipal Council had constructed a multi-level parking and other parking spaces, including in the SDM complex and near the night street market, people park their vehicles on roadsides. Similarly, taxi drivers and even private vehicle owners park their vehicles along with divider in front of the Ambala Cantonment bus stand and it leads insufficient space for smooth traffic movement. The number of vehicles increases by the evening and it also creates problems for the roadways bus drivers leading to traffic jams.

Karan Gupta, a local resident, said, “The road in front of the bus stand witnesses frequent traffic jams because a complete lane is being used by taxi drivers and other shopkeepers to park their vehicles. It gets difficult for other commuters to cross the road. Presence of stray bulls, fruit carts and vehicles parked in front of the shops on other side of the road further reduces the space. The traffic police should initiate some action on wrongly parked vehicles.”

Kushal, another local resident, said, “Despite having the facility of multi-level parking near the Sadar market, shopkeepers and showroom owners park their vehicles in front of their business establishments. Similarly, their customers also prefer parking the vehicles in front of the shops blocking a major part of the road. Not only commuters but emergency vehicles, too, get stuck due to the wrongly parked vehicles. The police department should take some strict action and ensure a smooth flow of traffic in the market areas, and also take action against people who leave their cars unattended on roads.

Meanwhile, Ambala Superintendent of Police Surinder Singh Bhoria said, “We are focusing on improving the traffic management and it has been decided to run a special campaign in the Sadar area and the Mahesh Nagar area where people leave their vehicles on roads and along the dividers. The police, along with the Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, will take up the special drive and also hold discussions with the Vyapar Mandal and other market associations in this regard.”

“Directions have also been issued regarding the parking of taxis near the bus stand. The drivers have been told to park their vehicles at designated places only. Soon, challaning will be intensified for wrongly parked vehicles,” he added.