Acute shortage of parking space in Dibrugarh town flayed

From a Correspondent

Dibrugarh, Feb 15: The acute shortage of parking space has put Dibrugarh town into a state of quagmire. Exceeding all bounds of reasoble limit, the problem has, of late, emerged as one of the most alarming causes of concern for the people here. Several factors contribute to the issue under consideration.

It has been observed that in certain localities, including HS Road, RKS Path and Loharpatty, the car owners park their vehicles on the roadside in front of their residence, and not within the premises of their residence. Clearly, they do not have garages, which ultimately results in their cars rrowing down the surface area of the busy roads. Such people either did not anticipate the need of a garage in the future while constructing their house, or even if they had, simply did not care about keeping provisions for a garage.

Based on our observations and sources, it can be asserted that many traders of the town have also led to this chronic problem. They erect ‘no-parking’ boards in front of their shops or enterprises, thereby giving out the impression of owning that space. Such mindless and offensive activities, needless to say, have further cut down the spaces available for parking. Same can be said about many private nursing homes. By limiting their parking space only to their doctors, they not only mete out a differential treatment to their patients, but also best display their decadent values. The centres of health, of all institutions, should be at the forefront of upholding the basic civic requirements. Knowing that the hospitals draw patients in large numbers, they must, in all circumstances, maintain adequate parking facilities. This, apart from doing justice to the patients and their attendants, will also prevent the roads from being cluttered by roadside parking.

On the other hand, many traders, driven by the sole motive of profit-maximisation, have flouted many rules pertaining to traffic magement as well as urban planning. For instance, it has been learnt that the owner of the Corporate Park building, located in RKB Path, has been pelized for violating certain parking norms it had agreed to maintain. The building that has rented out spaces to organizations like Axis Bank and Vishal Mega Mart, despite having a parking lot, was not making it available for parking purposes. Contrarily, it is used to position its generator and some other essentials, thus forcing its customers to park their vehicles on the roadside.

Talking to The Sentinel, Executive Engineer of Public Health Engineering as well as current Executive Officer of the Dibrugarh Municipality Board (DMB), Kailash Sharmah said that fines had been imposed on the owner for the violation, and that the latter had agreed to put its parking space to the rightful purpose –which is vehicular parking - within a month.

Additiolly, in gross violation of rules laid down by Dibrugarh Development Authority, the owner of the building has ended up building more floors than what was agreed upon. Such activities make the task of the district administration and other authorities concerned tougher, and pose a serious challenge in finding a permanent solution to the deplorable status of parking facility in the town.