Noida assures Sec 18 shopkeepers of addressing parking mess

The Noida authority has assured shop owners of Sector 18 market that it will improve civic issues, especially the perennial problem of parking in the market premises, after their recent meeting with the authority’s deputy CEO Saumya Srivastava on Saturday.

The Noida authority has assured shop owners of Sector 18 market that it will improve civic issues, especially the perennial problem of parking in the market premises, after their recent meeting with the authority’s deputy CEO Saumya Srivastava on Saturday.

The Noida authority has assured shop owners of Sector 18 market that it will improve civic issues, especially the perennial problem of parking in the market premises, after their recent meeting with the authority’s deputy CEO Saumya Srivastava on Saturday.(Sunil Ghosh/HT File)

“I have directed the engineers concerned to list civic and parking problems. Once the report is ready we will be able to redress the grievances,” said the DCEO, adding he will take action against illegal parking.

President of the shop owner’s association in Sector 18 market, Sushil Kumar Jain, said, “The parking mess is a big headache here. We have lodged several complaints that parking contractors illegally carry out double-lane parking. The DCEO has assured us that he will send a team of officials soon to prepare a comprehensive report.”

Unhappy with the parking problems inside the market complex, the shop owners have appealed to the city traffic police a number of times to put up ropes to separate parking zones from public utility spaces. Shop owners claim that every inch of market space is being used for illegal parking.

“Vehicles parked haphazardly in front of our shops dissuade shoppers from visiting,” said RS Vohra, a shop owner.

According to shop owners, the police and Noida authority have been shifting the responsibility of fixing parking problems to each other.

“We have also requested the authority to put up parking signboards with details. The authority has said that it is likely to hand over parking management of the entire city to a Delhi-based company to end the mess,” said Dharmendra Singh Yadav, traffic inspector.

The meeting with the DCEO was to be held on August 31, but could not be held that day due to heavy rains that had led to waterlogging in many areas, including Sector 18 market where water entered almost every basement due to choked drains. Shop owners have also been demanding that the authority direct its staff to conduct a survey to find a permanent solution to the problem of choked drains in the market. On Saturday, shop owners told Srivastava that drain outlets in the market premises are faulty, causing waterlogging during rains.

Apart from this, issues such as management of vendors and hawkers and demarcating parking areas for autorickshaws, e-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws were also discussed.