No fear of law for illegally parked cars
NIZAMUDDIN CLOGGED From trucks to school buses to twowheelers to cars, unchecked vehicles on roadsides block traffic night or day at critical roundabout
NEW DELHI: At the Nizamuddin roundabout, a major crossroads between south and central Delhi, the traffic nightmare is more about encroachment than poor engineering.
Vehicles parked illegally right at the gates of the Nizamuddin police station and the cycle rickshaws, e-rickshaws and autos waiting in the no-parking zone at the entry of the road leading to the Nizamuddin Dargah, leave just one lane for the heavy traffic coming from the Ashram side.
On Monday, just three days after the Supreme Court’s Special Task Force (STF), which is tasked with removing encroachments and unauthorised parking, conducted its second drive on the stretch, HT found an entire carriageway outside the police station packed with vehicles—some illegally parked by the visitors of the Nizamuddin Dargah, while others, official vehicles from the station including a few seized as case property.
Despite three parking lots in the vicinity — at the Humayun’s Tomb, behind the Nizamuddin Dargah and at the Nizamuddin railway station, one can spot vehicles parked on the roadside on all sides of the roundabout with the Sabz Burj in the centre.
NEAR NIZAMUDDIN POLICE STATION
A row of illegally parked cars and two-wheelers choke this stretch of Mathura Road. Officials from the station said that the constables fine and impound vehicles. They also claimed that during rush hour, their personnel also manage traffic.
“There is shortage of space inside the station, which is why larger vehicles such as trucks and buses have to be parked outside the station. These vehicles are not even called to the station regularly,” said a police official.
The chaos here is aggravated by the high pedestrian movement. At any given time of the day, the stretch is packed with auto-rickshaws and shared transport services in search for passengers. This crowd also makes it a major hawking zone, where unlicensed vendors sell eatables and drinks to visitors.
On the other side of the road, towards Ashram, there are two nurseries where visitors leave their vehicles on the road.
TOWARDS LODHI ROAD
The radial road leading towards Lodhi Road is not only plagued by vehicles parked on the side, but at night a dozen private interstate buses also make pit-stops here. Along with the main road, the divider towards Lala Lajpat Rai Marg is also taken over by these illegally parked buses.
At night, the road is also taken over by cycle rickshaw pullers and homeless people, who sleep on the footpaths and on the edge of the dividers. This makes driving a risky affair here after 10pm.
DPS, MATHURA ROAD
Vehicles ferrying students in the morning and afternoon clogs Mathura Road stretch in front of Delhi Public School.
Principal, DPS, Mathura Road, Manohar Lal said they have 50 buses but they are parked inside the school when the students board and de-board them.“we have around 5,000 students and many of them don’t take buses. These students take private cabs or are dropped and picked up by their parents, and these vehicles have to be parked outside the gates because of security reasons. They cause traffic jams, but last only 15 minutes,” Lal said.
DR ZAKIR HUSSAIN MARG
As many as 50,000 to 80,000 vehicles crosses this road, which connects south to central Delhi, during the peak hours. This aggravates the jam at the roundabout.
Traffic snarls are common as autorickshaw drivers park here to pick up passengers. The police try to slap challans, but they return soon after the cops are gone. The entire area becomes a mess on Thursdays and Sundays when people come to the dargah. Cars are parked on both sides of the road leaving no space for vehicles.