Chandigarh feels the pinch as parking space lessens

CHANDIGARH: The residents are facing acute shortage of parking space in the city. With an increase in the number of cars, the authorities concerned have not been able to provide ample parking space.
Manav Mittal from Sector 9D, Chandigarh, said: “We have arranged our own parking system so that people do not have to wait to park their cars. The situation is manageable during the day, but it gets difficult during the evening because of heavy flow of traffic.”
Another resident of Sector 9 said: “A whole lot of restaurants and stores have come up in such a small place, so the congestion is bound to be there.I hope this menace, pertaining to inner markets, are brought into the notice of the authorities concerned as soon as possible.”
The residents of the city are also facing this problem due to increased cover area of houses. According to a resident of Sector 19: “People want big houses and lots of cars, but don’t want to spend money on underground parking. Maximum numbers of cars are parked on the roads during the night.”
M S Sandhu, a resident of Sector 18 said: “The authorities concerned must make it mandatory for residents with houses of more than two floors to construct a floor for parking their vehicles. This will also reduce theft cases drastically and it will be easier for everyone to drive through the roads. Cars are parked alongside the roads day and night and its gets difficult to drive through.”
According to residents of Sectors 34 and 41, there is no parking space provided by private institutions which has worsened the problem.
They said: “Due to upcoming colleges and institutes, the numbers of paying guests in the city have increased. They park their vehicles alongside the roads without taking into cognisance the inconvenience caused to the owners of the houses in the locality. Running businesses in residential areas should not be allowed.”
In addition to this, some residents are also facing problems due to private tuitions, clinics and salons that have opened in the residential areas.
A resident of Sector 7, Chandigarh, said: “Every house has at least two cars. They also have tenants, who also own a car. How can a house accommodate so many vehicles?”
Sunil, a parking executive in Sector 16 said: “People lacked basic civic sense and because of which the problem is rising. They must understand that roads on the commercial areas have white boxes and all should park their vehicles accordingly. But, the cars are parked haphazardly.”
Also, a whole lot of parking space is occupied by debris accumulated in the areas, he says.
Rajesh Kalia, mayor of the city, said: “We are trying our best to solve the problem. As far as inner markets are concerned, we have had a word with private associations. We know that the problem is serious and we will act on it soon.”