Parking tiff boils over in Sarojini Nagar

On Sunday,even as the traders were supposed to meet and decide if they should pay the parking fees,some of them confronted the new contractor,Lalita Sherawat,who had been demanding money from them. Till now the traders had been parking for free in the area. Soon,the scuffle turned ugly and some people got hurt.

“There are five parking lots in Sarojini Nagar. The NDMC has asked us to take over parking at two lots under the Bhagidari scheme. But we want them to give us all the lots,or give us free parking space,” said Ashok Randhawa,president of the Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Association. On Monday,angry traders met Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit followed by a meeting with NDMC officials on Tuesday.

Under the Bhagidari scheme,the contract for parking is given to the traders’ association of the market at 20 per cent discount. This scheme has been implemented in Khan Market and Bengali Market where all lots are reportedly run by the traders. “Several contractors will only lead to future problems. This is why we are demanding that all parking should be given to us and if that is not possible,at least free parking should be provided to us,” said Randhawa,adding that the traders have around 400 cars.

As of now,the traders are scheduled to have a second meeting with the NDMC officials on Wednesday. However,no matter what the resolution will be for the traders,parking woes will come to an end only when the NDMC completes construction of a multi-level automatic parking near the market. The parking with space for 824 cars is expected to be inaugurated before the Commonwealth Games.