NEW DELHI: A day after Delhi High Court junked a plea by traders and business operators on Ajmal Khan Road, challenging the decision to make Ajmal Khan Road vehicle-free, the association is likely to file a fresh appeal.“We haven’t yet received the hard copy of court’s order. We will take a good hard look at the points raised by the court in favour of its argument and arbitration. We will decided on our future course accordingly and also consider filing a fresh petition,” Vinod Monga, member, Ajmal Khan Traders Association, told this newspaper.
The traders had opposed the decision by North Delhi Municipal Corporation, turning the Karol Bagh market into a vehicle-free zone, earlier this month. In response to the association’s petition, Justice Vibhu Bakhru on Wednesday noted that the trader’s claim of parking their vehicles on the road is “unsustainable.”Lauding the move to make the road pedestrian-only, Justice Bakhru said it is step towards ensuring a proper traffic circulation system in Karol Bagh.
However, the association is firm on continuing their opposition as it claimed that the North civic body’s decision has hit their business within a month.“Beautification of the market is fine, but what is the point of bringing a change to the market which does not benefit the traders? Not all customers come here by Metro. Those who used to come by car now avoid the market, as the designated parking space is quite far.
While the ban on parking should stay, the movement of vehicles should be allowed at least,” Vinod said.
The traders, in their plea, claimed that according the Delhi Master Plan 2021, Ajmal Khan Road is a designated motorable zone. They condemned the move to turn it into a vehicle-free zone.“The corporation has taken `26,000 as one time annual parking fee from more than 400 businessmen. So what happens to that money now? The civic body didn’t take consider our concerns,” Ajay Bajaj, another member of the association, said.