Traders protest, seek rollback of parking charges at Sanjay Place
AGRA Traders on Friday staged a protest and burnt the effigy of the mayor against the Agra Nagar Nigam’s (ANN) decision to levy parking fees at Sanjay Place, a commercial hub in Agra.
The agitated traders sat on dharna in the parking area, saying they would be on an ‘indefinite protest’, till the parking charges were withdrawn by the civic body.
“We burnt an effigy of mayor Naveen Jain, as he implemented parking fees at Sanjay Place, which is the main hub for traders,” said
KN Agnihotri, president of Sanjay Place Market Association.
He added, “ANN has flouted norms, as traders of Sanjay Place markets had already paid a fee for parking space at the time of purchasing the property.”
“Sanjay Place, located in the heart of Agra, was developed by the Agra Development Authority (ADA). In 2005, the market was handed over to the Agra Nagar Nigam. The municipal corporation was required to collect property tax, carry out maintenance work and look after street lighting and sewer system,” he added.
“There was no mention of parking fee in the handover document. We have already paid for the parking space,” he emphasised.
“We will not withdraw our protest till the ANN rolls back the decision to charge parking fees from Sanjay Place markets. On Saturday, we will meet various business heads of the city and seek support,” said Agnihotri.
Heeren Agrawal, secretary of Sanjay Place Market Association, said: “Despite the ongoing case in the sessions court, ANN has issued a parking contract for three years to influential people.”
“These people force visitors to pay parking fees. We have been protesting against this,” he claimed.
Mayor Naveen Jain said, “We will wait for the court order. Until then, we will not interfere in the matter. If anyone has any issue, they may submit their complaint to the official concerned at ANN.”
-Yogesh Dubey