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Encroachers stand firm under nose of Nizamuddin police
Despite two anti-encroachment drives over the past week, during which over 50 illegally parked cars were impounded and 32 unlicensed vends removed, the problem continues to blight the Nizamuddin police station area.
The roundabout outside Nizamuddin police station serves as a grim reminder that the Capital’s law-enforcement apparatus strikes no fear in the hearts of those encroaching on pavements and roads whose pedestrian and motorable area is cannibalised by a sea of vehicles parked mindlessly and hawkers using crossings as marketplaces.
The roundabout — an arterial connection between south Delhi and NCR towns — is a commuter’s nightmare at the best of times as autorickshaws solicit passengers and drivers park school buses on the road, but the largest congregation of illegally parked vehicles seen right outside the police station compounds matters. At any time of the day, private vehicles can be seen parked alongside police cars and other vehicles seized as case property at the station.
Despite two anti-encroachment drives initiated by the Supreme Court-appointed special task force on Mathura Road towards Faridabad over the past week, during which over 50 illegally parked cars were impounded and 32 unlicensed vends removed, the problem continues to blight the station area.
When HT visited the stretch on Monday, a row of cars could be seen parked on either side of Mathura Road right in front of the Nizamuddin police station.
On the radial road leading towards Lodhi Road too, cars and two-wheelers were seen parked haphazardly, allowing little space for traffic to move.
Not oblivious of the matter, authorities claim to have taken steps to ease the situation.
“Roadside parking is a problem that exists across the city. However, we have identified problem areas such as Nizamuddin to conduct regular drives for the removal of these illegally parked vehicles,” said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Garima Bhatnagar.
Bhatnagar said a problem that particularly haunts this stretch is the high volume of pedestrians coming from the Nizamuddin Dargah, which crowds the main road with autorickshaws and low-cost shared transport services awaiting passengers.
Apart from these issues, the radial road leading towards Lodhi Road is an illegal parking hotbed for interstate buses, especially at night. This happens despite the presence of three authorised parking lots in the area — the Humayun’s Tomb parking at the roundabout, the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah parking near the baoli, and the Nizamuddin railway station parking.
Going further down the stretch, weekday mornings and afternoons witness huge congestion caused by school buses and private vehicles ferrying students of Delhi Public School on Mathura Road.
“We have conducted drives and will continue to revisit the stretch. However, it is also the responsibility of the Delhi Police and its traffic unit to conduct regular drives to do away with the unauthorised parking,” said a senior north Delhi municipal corporation official.
