Civic body should take immediate steps to regulate parking space,say Pimpri-Chinchwad residents In a letter to municipal commissioner Asheesh Sharma,the Citizen's Forum,an association of residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad,has demanded that there should be proper regulation of parking space on the internal roads of the twin industrial township. The forum said while the civic administration is making arrangements for parking on the Pune-Mumbai highway,it is paying little attention to the parking problem that persists on internal roads. On any internal road in Pimpri-Chinchwad,you will find citizens parking their vehicles haphazardly. This should stop. The roads belong to the civic body and not to individuals, the forum said. Shirdhar Chalkha,one of the members of the forum,said the the Pune Municipal Corporation has planned to introduce pay-and-park on internal roads. The PCMC should also follow suit. The civic administration should,however,levy minimum parking fees otherwise it will lead to widespread protest from citizens and then it will buckle under pressure and withdraw it, he said. The forum said several families in the township own at least two vehicles which they park on the road near their residences. In the absence of parking space,hundreds of families resort to this practice of parking their vehicles on the road,thereby not only creating traffic problems but also threat to lives of other travellers at night . Sanjay Shah,chairman of the Goyal Residency,Kasarwadi,said nearly 5,000 residents use the Goyal Residency Road to head towards Nashik Phata chowk. The road is very narrow. One vehicle barely can pass through it. Yet there are vehicles parked on this road. If the vehicle owners are asked to remove their vehicles,they indulge in arguments and even fights. This is a regular occurence on this particular road. Despite telling the PCMC administration to ban parking on this road,nothing has been done. The PCMC has just put up a parking board with no instructions written on it, said Shah. M Ramdurg,a civic activist,said the PCMC lacked a proper parking policy. This is the reason why vehicles can be found parked anywhere. On the internal roads,situation is becoming worse. Either public roads are being used to set up stalls or are used as free parking lots. The condition is getting worse by the day in busy places like Pimpri,Chinchwad and Bhosari. In these areas,to find a space to park your vehicle is a job in itself, said Ramdurg. What is required,said Ramdurg,is a comprehensive parking policy applicable throughout the town. Certain narrow and busy roads needed to be completely banned for any kind of parking. While on other wider roads,parking lots should be set up like it has been done on the Pune-Mumbai highway, he said. The forum said the PCMC should also take steps to ease the chaos that reigns in Pimpri camp area. Pimpri is the central place for residents of the town. Whether it is buying fruits,vegetables,books,bags,clothes or other useful items,citizens from different corners of Pimpri-Chinchwad rush to Pimpri. This results in heavy traffic jams on all roads. The parking problem then becomes severe. This is an everyday occurrence. No commissioner of PCMC has ever thought seriously about decongesting Pimpri-Chinchwad. Sharma should take the initiative in this direction," the forum said.
