Squatters, illegal parking choke roads near Neela Gumbad

NEW DELHI: Vehicles illegally parked on roadsides, autorickshaws lingering around bus stops in search of passengers, and squatters on footpaths forcing pedestrians to spill out on the main road are common sights that make commuting a nightmare in the national Capital.

Sample this, around Mathura Road near the Neela Gumbad roundabout in Nizamuddin, illegally parked vehicles and encroachment on the footpath cause jams every day that stretch all the way to NH-2.

Commuters here complain that on several occasions in a day, police vehicles are seen parked on the road outside the Hazrat Nizamuddin police station, blocking passage.

Madhavi Mehta, 42, a regular commuter on the stretch, said that despite the clear signs of ‘no parking’, a row of vehicles remains permanently parked on both sides of the road. “These vehicles remain parked right outside the Hazrat Nizamuddin police station and still the police turn a blind eye,” Mehta said.

An official at the police station said the lack of space in the station forces some of vehicles to be parked outside, but they ensure no obstruction is caused to movement of traffic. “Almost every day our policemen stand outside to man the traffic along this stretch. The high volume of traffic on Mathura Road is the real reason for these jams,” the official said.

During peak hours in the morning and evening, the Neela Gumbad roundabout becomes a traffic nightmare. Drivers are seen struggling to make their way through the bottleneck created by parked vehicles that often eat up one of the road’s two lanes.

On Sunday, a special task force, comprising members from the municipality and the Delhi Traffic Police, conducted an antiencroachment drive on the stretch removing over 50 squatters and 100 abandoned cars.

Residents and commuters said that people who come to Nizaumddin generally find the main road a convenient spot to leave their cars. Even though there is an authorised parking lot along Lala Lajpat Rai Marg a few hundred metres away, but people seldom use it, they said.

Muzammil Khan (63), a resident of Bhogal, said the traffic gets particularly worse at night when people start to throng at the small restaurants in the Nizamuddin area and leave their cars parked on the roads. “Many of these restaurants are very popular and open in the evening. There is authorised parking, but people only look for convenience,” Khan said.

At night, several interstate buses also choose narrow road going towards Lala Lajpat Road, as an overnight parking spot.

Garima Bhatnagar, joint commissioner of police (traffic), said, “We have been conducting drives to remove these illegally parked vehicles and the local traffic staff is also ordered to keep a check on any disturbance to the smooth movement of traffic,” she said.