Parking lots unused, vehicles block roads

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, April 18

Despite construction of two parking lots near the Quilla road and Bhiwani stand markets, the problem of traffic congestion prevails. People continue to park their vehicles on the roads instead of using the parking space.

The Rohtak Municipal Corporation authorities have put up ‘no parking’ boards at the Bhiwani stand, Quilla road, Railway road, Shouri cloth market and Mal Godam road. The authorities have carried out campaigns time and again to impound the vehicles parked in unauthorised zones and slap penalty on the violators.

They have also placed barricades in the middle of the Quilla market road to prevent the customers and shopkeepers from parking their vehicles there, but in vain.

An MC official said shopkeepers did not want the customers to use the parking lots. They fear it would adversely affect their business as the customers would prefer to visit the shops located near the parking area, he said.

“We park our vehicles either on the Maharaja Agrasen or the Bhagat Singh parking areas. We cannot force the customers to use the parking lots and walk to the shops. They want the parking facility right outside the shops to save their time. The MC authorities should not object to parking of vehicles outside our shops,” said Bittu Sachdeva, president, Quilla Road Traders’ Association.

Sachdeva said they had, several times, demanded to remove barricades placed in the middle of the Quilla market, as it would not allow fire tenders or other four-wheelers to enter in case of an emergency.

Surendra Goyal, Land Officer at the MC, said they held several meetings with market associations, requesting their cooperation in keeping the roads free from vehicles, but to no avail.

“This attitude of shopkeepers has forced us to impound the vehicles. The parkings are free, but majority of customers and shop owners are not ready to use them,” said Goyal.

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