Nainital battles to end parking pangs
Monsoon rain has replenished depleting levels of the Nainital lake, a major tourist attraction, but persisting parking problems threaten to bring down visitors’ inflow to the lake city
Monsoon rain has replenished depleting levels of the Nainital lake, a major tourist attraction, but persisting parking problems threaten to bring down visitors’ inflow to the lake city.
If parking hassles are not overcome, then the city may cease to be one of the most favoured destinations for tourists, experts said.
The Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital, in its order on July 9, has asked the district administration to seal hotels if they fail to provide parking space by September 15.
The court directed the district magistrate to form a team of officials to inspect parking spaces and “seal all hotels, guesthouses and homestays in Nainital by September 15 if they do not have provision of parking facilities for vehicles which is at least 50% of their accommodation capacity.” If the capacity of a hotel is 10 rooms, then it must have a parking facility for at least 5 vehicles.
The order has left hotel owners in a quandary as they have only expanded their rooms for profit without leaving enough space for parking.
“Many hotels were built in the 1950s and do not have infrastructure for parking,” said Dinesh Sah, president of the Hotels’ Association of Nainital. “We have filed a review (petition) in the court against the order and the hearing is on July 24, after which we will take a decision,” he said.
More traffic flow to Nainital has added to the parking problem. A group of residents gave a memorandum to the senior superintendent of police recently, saying about 7000 vehicles enter Nainital every day, but the city has parking facility for only 1500.
Experts spot locations
Taking a strict stand on traffic congestion on roads in Nainital, the high court had earlier banned entry of mini buses and heavy vehicles. It directed officials to make more parking lots so that vehicles were not kept on the roads.
After the order, the then Kumaon Commissioner D Senthil Pandiyan contacted the Central Institute of Road Transport in Pune for an expert analysis of the traffic scene in Nainital.
A team of experts came to Nainital in May and inspected points in the city -- Lakdi Tal, Sukhatal, Hanaumangarhi, Barapatthar, Metropole, Hanuman Dharmshala and the LDA parking. The team came again in July but not much work has been done, apart from selecting some spots for parking.
What next for hotels
Hotels’ Association president Sah said hotels are facing space crunch because there is no land left for parking. “We are only banking on relief from the court,” he said.
District magistrate Deependra Chaudhary said he had formed a committee comprising the additional district magistrate, additional superintendent of police and the executive officer of the Nagar Palika. “The committee has started surveying parking space in hotels and is making a database,” the DM said.
Chaudhary said action would be taken against the hotels after database was prepared. “The court has said the hotels should have parking on their own campus and external parking on the roads will not be taken into consideration.”
IIT Delhi team
The DM said, “We have contacted the transport engineering department of IIT Delhi and they will send a team by August 4 to see how traffic bottlenecks can be cleared and how the existing parking spaces can be expanded.” The team will also chalk out a traffic plan for the city during peak hours.
Sikkim model
“It is a boon that roadside parking is not allowed on the Mall road, otherwise no one would have been able to walk freely there,” said Wildlife Board member Anup Sah, a resident of Nainital.
“Sikkim, which is a Himalayan state like ours, has managed parking properly and we must try to follow that system,” he said.
Anup Sah suggested that many offices, which are not needed in Nainital, be shifted and steps taken to close illegal hotels and lodges.