Saket mall shoppers get parking ticket

Sunday, Dec 12, 2010




Designer labels, expensive perfumes and top-of-the-line SUVs, but no money to pay for parking — this is your mall-crawling Delhiite, unwilling to park in designated parking spaces as it means shelling out extra cash on 'just parking'. This attitude leads to long jams and constant honking on Press Enclave Road, where cars can be seen parked on either side of the road as well in the service lane along the malls, their owners shopping their hearts out inside three expensive Saket malls.

On Saturday, joint commissioner of police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg caused a flutter by swooping down on this stretch with his team. ''Over 50 cars were issued challans for improper parking, obstruction of traffic and not complying with the direction of a government officials — the minimum challan being Rs 600. We are initiating a drive in this area. The service lane can be used as a drop-off lane by TSRs and private vehicles but they should not halt for more than the minimum time taken to get off the vehicle. No vehicles are allowed to stop in the service lane,'' said Garg.

On an average day, and particularly during weekend, while cars wait to enter the malls or remain parked outside, the rest of Press Enclave Road gets steadily more crowded, with commuters from the busy BRT stretch, Panchsheel and other parts of south Delhi heading towards Saket and Mehrauli stuck in a narrow one lane instead of three lanes. With two hospitals located along the road, the jams and the honking are a major menace. Traffic moving from Saket towards BRT, Greater Kailash II and CR Park is also affected with cars parked on the other side as well.

When TOI visited the area on Saturday evening, over 20 red-beacon cars were seen parked in the service lane. One of the car owners even claimed to be the wife of a chief minister. "This is a no-parking zone and strict action will be taken against any violator,'' said Garg.

A case in point was a Gypsy with darkly tinted glasses parked in the service lane, its owner inside the mall. When asked why he had parked in a no-parking zone, he claimed ignorance. ''There were several other cars parked here when I parked and they were all VIP cars. I did not know you couldn't park here. It is my hard luck that I am getting caught, this happens every day,'' claimed the driver, Syed Akram Ali.

Other drivers offered their own excuses. ''Madam has gone inside for 10 minutes. I am just waiting here as she will be back soon. Actually it's an emergency,'' said Santosh, a driver of a Honda Accord. Another driver, Rupesh, at the wheels of a Cadillac, claimed, ''We have parked here and given Rs 20. This is actually a limited parking area.''

Some drivers were unfazed with the prospect of a fine. ''I park here every weekend as my employer frequents the place. So can everybody else. I am not stopping any traffic,'' said Dilshad, who had parked a Versa car. Several other luxury cars were seen lined up in the service lane, some with waiting drivers and several others with no owner or driver in sight.

Mall security personnel said that most car owners claim to be visiting the mall for only a few minutes and don't return for hours. ''They offer us bribes or assure us that they would return shortly. If we argue with them, they threaten us and things get extremely heated. This morning a car owner almost slapped me for telling him that it is a no-parking zone. At the end of the day, even the management asks us to avoid conflicts and there is little we can do if people come and park in the service lane,'' said a guard.

Original news source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Saket-mall-shoppers-get-parking-ticket/articleshow/7085539.cms#ixzz17xtslx1J