Pay four times more to park on Games’ opening, closing days

Parking your car anywhere near Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium on the opening and closing days of the 2010 C'wealth Games will cost you at least four times more than usual, reports Neelam Pandey.

Parking your car anywhere near Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium on the opening and closing days of the 2010 Commonwealth Games will cost you at least four times more than usual.

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Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said the decision to raise the parking fee for those two days was taken to encourage public transport during the Games, discourage people to park close to the stadium, and to prevent any congestion in the area around the stadium.

According to MCD estimates, a staggering 2 lakh people are expected to visit the stadium on those days. The price of tickets to the show has not been decided yet, though.

“We want to encourage people to use public transport during the Games. Hence we are planning to charge more money from people who park near the stadium than those who park at a distance. This will prevent congestion,” said a senior MCD official.

The Safdarjung airport, 4.5 km away, will be used as a parking lot for VIP vehicles, organising committee vehicles and players’ buses along with visitors' vehicles.

Parking space will also be created at Connaught place and Lodhi Road for the estimated 7,000 visitors' vehicles.

“People will be able to park their vehicles at the various parking sites and from there they will be able to use public transport to reach the venue of the Games,” added the official.