Mafia with ‘good contacts’ run illegal parking near Jama Masjid, block roads

The residential area in Chawri Bazar located behind Jama Masjid faces the brunt of the parking mafia’s illegal operations for both commercial and private vehicles.

The residential area in Chawri Bazar located behind Jama Masjid faces the brunt of the parking mafia’s illegal operations for both commercial and private vehicles.

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“The roads are so narrow that if the vehicles are parked on both the sides, it becomes very difficult to even walk on the road. The shopkeepers park their goods vehicles in front of the main gate of our homes and leave it like that for hours,” said Shamshad Alam (name changed on request), a resident.

Another resident revealed that these shopkeepers not only park their vehicles but also encourage others to do so. At times, vehicles lie unclaimed for days on the road, posing a security threat. “The problem gets so serious at times that one cannot enter or leave the house. The road gets so crowded that in case of any emergency, it is next to impossible for an ambulance or a fire brigade to reach the locality,” he said.

As you approach Jama Masjid, cars parked on both sides of the road, except for the gate 3 — the only authorised parking in the area — are allegedly managed by parking mafia. The parking charges are as high as `30 for an hour.

When HT asked an attendant about cars parked below a ‘No Parking’ sign, he said” “We take care of several cars every day. Nobody can dare to ask us to park them somewhere else. Your car will be safe with us.”

“Despite bringing this to the notice of the authorities, no action has been taken so far. The people running the show have good contacts, evidently,” Alam said.