Customers bypass markets with little parking space

In most markets as people fight for space, clutter and chaos reign supreme.

In most markets as people fight for space, clutter and chaos reign supreme.

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To get rid of this chaos, the civic agencies were supposed to build multi-level parking lots in markets such as South Extension, Karol Bagh, Greater Kailash, Lajpat Nagar, Rajouri Garden among others.

Even as the number of vehicles on the city’s roads increases daily, not a single such parking lot is ready.

Traders say lack of parking space causes traffic congestion which prevents people from visiting the markets.

“People think ten times before coming here. Due to the Games we were not taking up the matter with the authorities, but now we will not take any of their excuses. Our clientele has been hit severely due to traffic congestion and lack of parking,” says DN Rajpal, secretary, Lajpat Nagar market association.

Many market associations say they have been asking the civic agencies to build parking facilities for more than ten years now.

But nothing has happened.

“We need parking lots but under the agreement they wanted to use 25 per cent of the land for commercial purpose which would have defeated the purpose of the parking lot. Now they say that changes would be made to the clauses. We are hoping that work will start soon,” says Rajender Sharda, president of GK trader’s welfare association.

Not only this, the civic agency had collected Rs 247 crore from the traders as parking charges when certain stretches were converted from residential to commercial/mixed land use in keeping with the Master Plan of Delhi 2021 a few years ago.

However, not a single parking lot has been constructed using that conversion money.