PUDUCHERRY: A wedding is usually a joyous occasion that calls for celebrations. But Puducherry commuters have recently come to dread the wedding bells as vehicles parked outside the city's 50 function halls cause traffic snarls.
Even the vehicles of VIPs and ambulances caught in the jams, honking away, near marriage halls has become a regular sight in the Union Territory. Residents have urged the district administration to take action, and resolve the parking menace.
Owing to lack of adequate parking space, guests chose to park their vehicles at the roadside curb. In some halls, as parking areas vanish under decoration work and banners, vehicles line up outside the premises. This illegal parking causes minor accidents and sparks heated arguments between motorists and the attendees who parked their vehicles, contend locals.
"In a marriage hall with a 1,000 seater capacity, at least 300 to 400 two-wheelers and four-wheelers might be brought by attendees," said E Sastri of Jeeva Colony in Lawspet. Most halls have space for only 100 to 200 two-wheelers, but cars are mostly parked outside the halls, he added.
Meanwhile, the city's commuters try to steer clear routes with function halls on Subha Muhurtham. "On these days, roads on which marriage halls are situated are clogged with traffic. Some roads like Lenin Street are completely blocked by cars," explains N Velazhagan of DR Nagar in Kosapalayam. Further, instead of appointing additional security guards on the day of the events, the marriage hall management does not regulate the parking, he added.
Residents claim police hesitate to take action against this illegal parking despite complaints, as they don't want to put a dampener on the joyful mood. Speaking to TNIE, Puducherry Traffic North - East Superintendent of Police, C Maran said, "Marriage hall owners have already been told to arrange adequate parking space. Instructions were also given to them to appoint additional staff to regulate the parking of vehicles. The public must also have some responsibility to park their vehicles in accordance with the law, and without disturbing traffic."
Shopping mall visitors vehicles block Cuddalore road
Similarly, visitors at Puducherry's only shopping mall on Cuddalore Road park their two-wheelers outside the premises in two or three rows, despite adequate parking facilities.
"Mall-goers never listen to us, and pick arguments," said an owner of a petty shop near the mall on the conditions of anonymity. The road outside the mall is a three-way junction on either side but shrinks to a single lane on weekends and holidays due to the parking menace, he adds. Other shopkeepers said the condition worsens when functions take place in the nearby halls as guests park their vehicles here.
A senior police official from the traffic wing of Puducherry Police Department said people who park their vehicles outside the mall chose to do so to save `10 to `20. "But they are ready to spend hundreds and thousands on shopping at the mall. We already took action by collecting fines, but they still continue to park outside," he said, adding that the department will take strict action on the issue.