Shopkeepers here claim it to be one of the oldest markets in Noida and perhaps that's the reason why no one (read Noida Authority) has ever been able to remove it, although shopkeepers here have completely overtaken the slip road.
The Car Mechanic Market in Sector 28, visited by most Noida residents to get their vehicles repaired, dented, painted or even to buy accessories, was established around two-and-a-half decades back, reportedly on the land owned by gujjars of the area. Though a case is still pending hearing in the court as to who own it, the Noida Authority or the gujjars, over 70 shops operate from here. And as things stand today, by the time the court order comes the shops would be double the present number, may be even more.
The landowners have rented the shops at 10,000-15,000 per month. Some have even been sublet further. The market was not as bustling as it is today and took off with a couple of car repair corners about 10 years back. "The market grew in size over the years due to the increase in the demand for car repair shops. This is kind of a one-stop-market for everything you need for your car here and the job is done satisfactorily in front of your eyes. Most importantly, you save lots of money too as the same services would cost you a bomb at any of the other markets and established car garages around town," says Aslam who has rented shop in the market.
The bustling market has spelt doom for the traffic on the main road, which is quite a busy one. Not just the service lane but on lane of the main road too has been taken over by the mechanics to repair the cars. Then since the area is such a busy one, it offers a good business opportunity for the many hawkers who converge here every morning to sell eatables and other products and leave the area only at night when the market closes. This further causes chaos on the road, and one can often see vehicles stuck against one another.
But it is not just the people who move on this road who face the problem, but even those who live nearby are a harassed lot. "The smell of petrol, paint, oil and the constant noise that is made while repairing a car is something which irritates a lot," says Subhash Shukla, who lives nearby in Sector 28.
The bustling market has spelt doom for the traffic on the main road, which is quite a busy one. Not just the service lane but on lane of the main road too has been taken over by the mechanics to repair the cars. Then since the area is such a busy one, it offers a good business opportunity for the many hawkers who converge here every morning to sell eatables and other products and leave the area only at night when the market closes. This further causes chaos on the road, and one can often see vehicles stuck against one another.
But it is not just the people who move on this road who face the problem, but even those who live nearby are a harassed lot. "The smell of petrol, paint, oil and the constant noise that is made while repairing a car is something which irritates a lot," says Subhash Shukla, who lives nearby in Sector 28.
"This area has become a bottleneck. What adds to the trouble is the private bus driver who stop just at the bend to pick and drop commuter," says Hiteshwar Bayana, another resident of Sector 28. "This place is quite chaotic, and we try and tow-away cars from here," says Circle Officer-Traffic Kuldeep Singh. "But then we just have three cranes and each one can take away only three cars at one time. And such huge number of cars are parked illegally that even when we do this job the entire day we are able to tow-away about 40 cars, which defeats the purpose," he adds.
"Further, the fine under the Motor Vehicle Act is too little, it doesn't burn a hole in the pocket of the offenders so the violations are huge," he remarks.