Delhi’s first automatic multi-level parking South Square at Sarojini Nagar market completed its first year on Friday. While the concessionaire DLF said they were impressed with the performance, traders are unhappy with the facility.
According to DLF, 50,000 cars used the parking lot in the past one year. It claimed no technical glitches affected the parking and it successfully caters to the needs of the busy market.
Benu Sehgal, project head of DLF multi-level parking, suggested that surface parking rates of the market must be hiked. “Even Bhure Lal (chairman of the Environment Pollution Control Authority) has been advocating such a hike. There is also need for a paradigm shift in the mindset of the people when it comes to such projects,” said Sehgal.
The five surface parkings at the Sarojini Nagar market are also operated by DLF. At present, the surface parking charges are low and shoppers prefer to park on the roadside.
Sehgal said around 4,500 cars are parked at the facility every month. “Over 94% of the customers have given a positive feedback,” she said.
The shoppers and traders, however, said that the facility has fallen short of expectations due to long retrieval time and traffic problems. President of the Sarojini Nagar Market Traders Association, Pramod Kumar said, “Traders come to the market and leave around the same time. It will be chaotic if 300 traders lined up to park and retrieve their cars at the same time.”
The automated parking, built on a PPP model, has been under the scanner ever since it was inaugurated in November last year. The site has reported technical glitches and long retrieval time on some occasions.