Unregulated parking is affecting the movement of vehicles in the main thoroughfares in the heart of Puducherry. JN Street,the main shopping area of Puducherry, has become a nightmare for commuters as vehicles are parked haphazardly on the roads leaving little space for other vehicles to commute.
When the Puducherry administration announced the plan to set up a multi-level car parking project on the premises of Old Jail Complex on J N Street, people here heaved a sigh of relief. They thought the project would decongest the city. The project was planned to be executed in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. But the project is yet to materialise.
After much dillydallying, the government had requested the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on March 28, 2012 to accord ‘in principle’ approval for undertaking the project and approval for transfer of government poramboke land of 2,854 square meter to the Industries Department. The Home Ministry had in turn directed the Puducherry administration to resubmit the proposal after obtaining approval of the council of ministers.
Now the premises where the parking lot is to come is being used by two-wheelers. Due to this, there is no space left to park the four- wheelers. Hence the four-wheelers remain parked on the streets for want of space, causing difficulties in movement of vehicles.
The unregulated parking has also led to problems in garbage clearance also. Garbage collectors are unable to go beneath the vehicles to clear the garbage dumped on the roads.
Speaking to Express, Congress MLA K Lakshminarayanan suggested that till the multi-level parking becomes a reality, the existing buildings on the Old Jail Complex which is in a dilapidated state could be demolished and this would create space for parking of cars and four-wheelers.