Gensets on govt land add to parking woes in Patiala

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 30

Big generator sets lying alongside roads in the open have been inconveniencing residents and nearby shopkeepers in the busy markets of the city. These generators not only encroach on public land but also prove a traffic nuisance. Loosely hanging wires of these generators pose a risk to the lives of visitors.

The noise caused due to generators functioning without canopies in the Chotti Baradari area, a commercial hub, is an irritant to the residents of the area. Despite repeated complaints to various authorities, no action has been taken in this regard so far.

Complaints against generators at the Chotti Baradari market, kept by private institutes, banks and a hotel, were also lodged with the Municipal Corporation and the Improvement Trust, but the authorities have failed to act.

A visit to the market and adjoining lanes makes it clear that the authorities have not been able to address the residents’ concerns. The generators in the back lane of the Beant Singh Shopping Complex market are clear encroachments, as permanent structures have been kept.

“Already the illegal car bazaar in the area has occupied most of the car parking and now these generators sets have encroached over government land and people have to park their cars far off and walk to banks and other buildings,” said Harkirat Singh, who is a practicing lawyer at the District Courts, Patiala. “Elderly face a lot of inconvenience due to parking hazards caused by such generators and the pollution caused by it,” he added.

The tehbazari wing of the municipal corporation has failed to act against all such encroachments in the recent past and thus shopkeepers have now installed generators, outside the buildings, permanently occupying parking space.

A few years back the Punjab Pollution Control Board had initiated a drive to check all air and noise pollution causing generators, but from past few years they have not even conducted any inspection to verify the pollution level caused by the generators.

The board has so far not been able to put a rein on use of such generators that causes not only air, but also noise pollution.

A senior Punjab Pollution Control Board official said that no such inspection was carried out in the recent years. “There were some National Green Tribunal directions pertaining to pollution by generators. We will soon initiate a drive”, he said.

Meanwhile, the MC officials said that they would get the spot inspected and necessary action will be taken.