If you are one of those who feels scared driving in Old Delhi, fear not. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi will be soon constructing a hi-tech parking lot in old Delhi. The parking site, which is expected to come up in six months, will be the fourth stack parking lot in the city. The multi-level puzzle-type stack parking system can have three, four or five decks of iron frames, which can be moved vertically or horizontally with powerful hydraulic lifts.
City youngsters laud MCD’s move. Avers Ghulam Mohammed, who works at a publishing house near Jama Masjid. “It will have little impact inside Shahjahanabad, the Walled City, which is a cluster of narrow alleys. Only cycle rickshaws or trolleys move along with a moving sea of pedestrians there. But it might provide relief to those who struggle to navigate up to Jama Masjid, Karim’s or Lal Quila. The move has been designed keeping in mind, the large chunk of tourists inflow in the area. Overall, it would be welcomed by Old Delhiwallas,” he says.
A good move indeed to cope with the growing space crunch in the capital, opines Anthony Gangmei, a professional, who says, “I take this as a welcome move because wherever you go, there is always a parking problem. I think this should be done as soon as possible, before the Commonwealth Games. Parking is a problem and because of it even roads are fully packed and it is difficult to move around.”
Shereen Iqbal, a resident of Old Delhi shares, “I am really happy to learn that we may soon have a parking lot. One of the major problems of Old Delhi is its unruly traffic. Many of my friends refrain from driving down here as they fear that they will hit rickshaws. They don’t even pick me up from my house, and ask me to come out near Red Fort instead.”
Delhi University student Nasreen Ghani, who lives in Ballimaran says, “It will surely help smoothen the traffic. We need the parking lot. Residents here don’t even have space to park their own vehicles. We park our car at the underground parking facility near Fatehpuri mosque, which is a good 20-minute ride in a cycle rickshaw. We pay Rs 800-1,000 per month to park our vehicle there. In times of emergency, I don’t even want to imagine the consequences.”