Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Dhanteras is all set to see an increase in the festive rush as the day marks the beginning of the five-day Diwali. The city’s markets are overwhelmed by festive shoppers leading to massive traffic congestion and bottlenecks due to inadequate parking arrangements in these commercial centres. Traders have blamed Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) for failing to allot parking spaces to contractors or authorizing the shopkeepers to manage the parking of vehicles for at least during the festive season.
Even as there are designated and multi-level parking lots, the shoppers continue to park their vehicles haphazardly along the roads leading to traffic snarls. The traffic goes from bad to worse during peak hours . In New Market, there is multi-level parking but motorists coming for shopping prefer parking their vehicles roadside.
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Many leave their cars and two-wheelers parked in front of the premium parking lot, obstructing the way of the vehicles already parked at the premium lot. Similarly, random vehicle parking is a common sight in MP Nagar. The traffic scene is chaotic at 10-Number Market. There is paid parking available at the market but it is mostly full and so people are left with no option but to park their vehicles wherever they can find a place, along the roadside, or in front of residences.
The shopkeepers have also voiced concerns over the inadequate fire safety measures. Fire tenders should be stationed close to markets or be patrolling near the marketplace to handle any emergency. The BMC, however, claimed it has deployed fire brigade vans at a few markets and the firefighters team is on high alert.
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Akash Soni, president, 10-Number Market Traders Association
“The BMC neither allotted parking lots to any contractor nor authorized traders to manage parking. This has led to haphazard parking inside and outside the market. Besides, the administration has failed to deploy a fire brigade in the vicinity of one of the city’s major markets. If the BMC has placed fire brigades on alert, their presence should be visible, either stationed nearby or patrolling the roads.”
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Ajay Devnani, spokesperson, Bhopal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCCI)
“For New Market, we have asked BMC to deploy a fire brigade van near the multi-level parking. Traffic police issue challans for illegal parking but they should also make announcements against parking in unauthorized areas, as people coming for shopping from other towns are not familiar with parking arrangements here.”
Harish Kirtani Trader, Bairagarh
“There is no fire brigade in our market. The BMC has deployed fire tender at firecracker market, but the rest of the market is sans any fire safety measures. Besides, the unregulated traffic has led to congestion in the market which has seen influx of people. Fire safety measures should have been in place during the festivals.”
Saurav Patel
“We have deployed fire brigades at a few market areas and have kept the fire brigade fleet on alert. For congested areas like Old Bhopal, we have arranged two-wheelers fire fighters. We have put in place elaborate fire safety measures with the entire fire fleet on alert to meet any exigency .”
