Widened Dharamsala roads become parking areas for private vehicles

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, December 4

The Dharamsala Municipal Corporation and state PWD have widened many roads in the city. The road widening work has been done at the places that were identified as black spots, prone to traffic jams and accidents. Sources here said that about Rs 20 crore had been spent on widening of roads at various spots in the city.

However, the exercise to ease traffic has not fructified as at most of the places the widened portions of the roads are being used by hotel owners and private persons for parking their vehicles.

A black spot on the road leading from Kotwali market to Khaniyara was widened significantly as it was prone to traffic jams. The PWD had to level a hill and construct a retaining wall to protect the widened portion of the road. However, almost the entire stretch of widened road has now been occupied by shopkeepers and private owners to park their cars.

Munish Sharma, a resident of Kotwali market while talking to The Tribune, said that the entire money spent by the government for widening of the road has gone waste. The widened portion has become an illegal parking area and the problem of traffic jams on the road remains the same, he said.

Sanjeev Gandhi, general secretary of the Smart City Hotel Association of Dharamsala, said that PWD had widened the McLeodganj-Dharamkot road at many places to ease traffic jams. The widened portions were created to ease passage of vehicles on the narrow road. However, most of widened portions of the road have been occupied by private car owners by parking their vehicles and the problem of traffic jams on the road persists.

He said the problem of traffic jams in the Upper Dharamsala region like McLeodganj, Dharamkot and Bhagsunag was becoming grave. Now, there are traffic jams in the area even in the lean tourist season as local residents are parking cars on the roadsides, Gandhi said.

The practice of parking vehicles on the roadsides on the main McLeodganj road has also grown.

The residents of Dharamsala have been demanding that the local police administration should act tough against those people who are using roadsides or widened portions of road as permanent parking places. They have maintained that unregulated parking in Dharamsala city has resulted in problems of traffic jams.

Kangra DC Nipun Jindal said he would direct police to act against those who have been using widened portions of roads as permanent parking places.

Hill levelling fails to serve purpose

A black spot on the road leading from Kotwali market to Khaniyara was widened as it was prone to traffic jams. The PWD had to level a hill and construct a huge retaining wall to protect the widened portion of the road. However, almost the entire stretch of widened road has now been occupied by shopkeepers and private owners to park their cars.

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