Despite significant increase in the number of vehicles on roads, the concerned authorities are sleeping over identifying and developing new paid car parking places in Srinagar city.
Today, if a person leaves his home in his car, his worry is where to park the vehicle. There is shortage of paid parking places and whatever space is available gets immediately booked.
The paid parking spots should be at least at all important places across the city, including business centres. A few multi-storied buildings for car parking were constructed and made operational during last few years.
But, there is still need for more parking places in Srinagar city to clear the mess on roads. Some people continue to park their vehicles on roads causing traffic jamming. Their vehicles are lifted and seized and fines imposed on them.
Some people say that they are forced to park the vehicles on road due to the reason that the parking places are not available; and if available those are already booked to capacity. Surely, wrong parking should not be allowed but government must create more parking space so that the people are not forced to park vehicles on roads.
Over the years no serious efforts were made for creating more parking slots. The issue was either ignored or not given that much of importance as it deserved. Subsequently, the roads get blocked due to wrong parking of vehicles and the subsequent action by officials sometimes leads to heated arguments between the drivers and officials.
Earlier, those indulging in wrong parking used to fear lifting and seizing of their vehicles. Now the officials use other means also, like clicking the pictures by a mobile phone of a wrongly parked vehicle and then sending the messages to owners regarding imposing of fine on them.
The people in other towns of Kashmir also face the problem of non-availability of parking spaces. There too the problem needs to be addressed. Some traffic officials allege that a number of people do not deliberately use the paid parking space and park their vehicles on roads.
Those indulging into such acts must refrain from doing so. Because of their actions, there is unnecessary traffic jamming on roads and thus commuters suffer. For shopkeepers in some areas, adequate slots have been reserved in neighbouring paid parking places on reasonable monthly charges.
They should utilise the space instead of parking their vehicles on roads. The government should also immediately set into motion a process for creating more paid parking spaces and speedily work on it.