Haphazard parking outside school triggers traffic chaos

Haphazard parking by parents and guardians outside a private school is causing traffic jams at Maharaja Agrasen Chowk near Sai Market every afternoon.

As soon as school is over, dozens of cars, SUVs and even a few rickety three-wheelers line up outside the gate, parked illegally and often in double rows. The sheer volume of vehicles chokes the road leading to the main chowk, bringing traffic movement to a standstill.

This afternoon was no different. The area outside the school dissolved into a cacophony of blaring horns and angry shouts as a huge bottleneck formed.

A serpentine queue of vehicles was stuck behind auto-rickshaws, cars and SUVs abandoned in the middle of the path by drivers who had “just stepped out for two minutes” to pick up their children. Commuters trying to cross the chowk found themselves trapped.

Stranded in traffic, an exasperated commuter, Rajiv Sharma, said this had become a routine. “People have started avoiding the road during school hours,” he said, adding that chaos outside the school clogs the entire stretch from Fountain Chowk to Leela Bhawan Chowk.

SP (Traffic) Harinder Singh Mann said, “I have written two letters to The British Co-Ed High School, asking them to make adequate parking arrangements, but have not received any response. Some schools have complied with the orders, and many have also responded. I am out of the city for training, and once I am back, necessary action will be taken. No one will be allowed to create traffic chaos.”

Tajinder Singh, another commuter, demanded a traffic cop be deployed at the spot daily to regulate traffic during the afternoon hours.