Thiruvananthapuram: Bustle and commotion are synonymous with Onam, and so is the traffic snarl. With Onam and Eid round the corner, the City Corporation officials and the Traffic wing of the police are yet to chalk out a plan to contain the surge of vehicles that are expected to hit the road prior to the festive days. According to officials, it is the non-availability of parking spaces in the city that is creating a big headache for them.
Last year, prior to Onam celebrations, the Corporation had promised that it would construct a parking lot at Putharikandom Maidan which could house around 1,000 light vehicles at a time. But that promise is yet to materialise. This has landed the Traffic officials in a tight spot. “The proposed parking lot would have come handy in dealing with the parking issue as it could have housed almost 1,000 light vehicles. But that plan didn’t take off. So, we have to arrange alternative facilities,” said Traffic Assistant Commissioner (South) P Mohanan. It is this dearth of parking space which forced the Traffic officials to allow one-sided parking of vehicles.
“We have decided to allow parking of vehicles on one side of the roads. This decision was taken on account of non-availability of parking space in the city. One-side parking, parallel to the road, will be allowed between Pulimoodu and Attakulangara, where most of the business establishments are located,” the Traffic AC said.
Attakulangara- Killipalam roadside and the space near Transport Bhavan will also be utilised for parking. At the same time, the Traffic Police have already deployed around additional 50 personnel, most of them from Attakulangara to MG Road and from Thampanoor to Overbridge. A traffic advisory meeting, which will be attended by the Mayor, representatives of merchants’ union and officials of Traffic and Police Department, would be held soon. The final plan regarding traffic regulations would be decided during the meeting.
Meanwhile, Mayor K Chandrika said that hawking would be strictly banned in the East Fort area. “The hawkers would be rehabilitated along Central theatre road,” she added.
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