74 banquet halls in Ghaziabad told to ensure adequate parking, avoid road chaos

It is a common feature in Ghaziabad that the wedding procession (barat) is taken out through busy main roads and guests generally park their cars on the road, without considering that doing so leads to traffic congestion

With wedding season on, the Ghaziabad police have served notices to 74 banquet halls across the city and directed them to make proper arrangements for parking and to avoid congesting roads.

A wedding procession on a busy stretch in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Every wedding season, Ghaziabad roads are choked by wedding processions and on-road parking, leaving commuters hassled and stuck in jams for hours.

“It is a common feature that the wedding procession (barat) is taken out through main roads and guests generally park their cars on the road, without considering that it leads to traffic congestion. Several banquet halls do not have parking spaces and those that do have parking, the space is inadequate. Commuters feel helpless in jams caused by on-road parking. Traffic police deployment is hardly there and the private guards at the venue are unable to manage traffic as they are not trained to do so,” said Vikrant Sharma, resident of Raj Nagar Extension.

Residents said long jams are a regular feature on the Diamond Road leading to NH-9 and also from Vasundhara to NH-9 owing to the presence of numerous wedding halls on these routes.

“Some banquet halls on the CISF Road have parking spaces, but they get filled up quickly. The wedding processions take time to disperse and firecrackers are also burnt on the road, unmindful of the inconvenience caused to commuters. There is hardly any enforcement,” said Mohan Sangwan, a resident of Shakti Khand, Indirapuram.

The traffic police said they have asked their respective traffic inspectors to identify areas that face such congestion and other issues.

“The inspectors have been asked to make arrangements and deploy personnel to avoid jams near halls. We have also served notices to 74 banquet halls/marriage homes, asking them to make proper arrangements for parking and ensure that road traffic is not hindered. If these conditions are violated, the traffic police may fine, seize and even lodge FIRs,” said Piyush Kumar Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

The wedding season has started after the Hindu festival of Devuthani Ekadashi on November 12 when it is believed that the gods have woken up and auspicious events such as weddings, purchase of new property or vehicles, etc., can be taken up.