Daily Times

Parking areas dedicated for costumers and the general public in major markets of Rawalpindi have been occupied by car dealers, while the city traffic police has failed to get the roadside footpaths vacated from these dealers.

Car dealers park a large number of vehicles on footpaths and roadsides in front of their shops at Chandni Chowk, Rahmanabad, 6th Road, Waris Khan and other areas of the city.These areas have virtually turned into ‘no-go areas’ for the general public due to lack of parking space and encroachments on the pavements.The dealers have not only occupied the parking spaces but also turn violent when citizen try to park their vehicles in these areas.

Hundreds of new and old cars can be seen parked in an orderly fashion in Rahmanabad area on the space reserved for the general public. The situation of 6th Road is not much different either. The adjacent streets of these areas have also been converted into car showrooms, as these dealers park their vehicles in the streets as well.The presence of showrooms has also had an adverse impact on the market value of shops located in the plazas where these showrooms are situated. Traffic police officials deployed in these areas have turned blind eye towards the situation, while the higher officials are being presented fake reports about the situation on ground.

The traders of Shalimar Club Market has shown serious concerns over illegal parking by these car dealers. “Despite having large parking space in front of our market, we and our costumers face problems in parking our cars because of these car dealers.We request the Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi and the city traffic police to take action so that the common man can have some peace of mind,”they said.

Despite repeated attempts, city traffic police could not be approached for comment.

Published in Daily Times, November 14^th 2018.