Fancy Bazar, the premier commercial hub of Guwahati has been facing the problem of parking for years now. Owing to the lack of a proper parking place, the entire market gets crowded which in turn leaves no space for the pedestrians to walk.
The old jail campus at Fancy Bazar has been opened for parking to cater to this demand. However, the parking area lies in a poor state and lacks basic facilities such as lights.
Women are the most affected as they are apprehensive about using the services. "The parking in the jail during day time is not an issue. But during night hours, there's no lighting. Moreover, there are only male guards, not a single female guard. So it doesn't feel safe," a female journalist told G Plus.
Moreover, the residents of the area have also expressed concern regarding the situation. The locals of Kedar Road Chariali claim that due to the lack of proper parking facilities, the cars and bikes have to be parked in front of their respective residences, which creates further chaos.
"The car parking is done on a temporary basis inside the premises when there is the festive season. On a normal day, the space allocated lacks basic infrastructural necessities. This is the reason everyone parks their cars in the residential areas causing heavy traffic," said Sabir Ahmed, a resident near the Jail Road.
At SRCB Road, SS Road and TRP Road, the condition of parking is even worse. Pedestrians and movement gets hindered due to treble parking of bikes and four-wheelers on the SRCB Road. On the TRP Road, one cannot even find the road at the Galapatty stretch. The settlement of vendors on the road attracts customers who, in turn, just park their vehicles on the road adding more difficulties to the problem.
G Plus spoke to the authorities of the parking space concerned who confirmed the lack of lighting as a problem. "We have issued a tender for the lights and the work will be done soon," said Hitesh Medhi of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).
Another parking near the fruits market adjacent to the Tiwari Market has also languished with overcapacity. G Plus spoke to Jugesh Das, salesman of Deka Store, who revealed, "The parking is always full. It is not possible to bring your car and keep it." Das further stated that the police have been strict by fining people who come and park their cars on the road, but there is no option for them as there are no other designated places where they can park their vehicles.
How parking affects businesses
This has affected the business of Fancy Bazar as modern-day consumers prefer online shopping or other markets like GS Road instead of going to the heritage market of Fancy Bazar. G Plus spoke to a seller in Fancy Bazar who stressed on the need for a proper parking space.
"There should be parking allowed on at least one side of the road because Fancy Bazaar is the hub of shopping in Guwahati. Our businesses have been impacted greatly due to these things," said the seller. He also pointed out that customers park their cars on the road as for a small purchase, they are unlikely to park their cars in the parking complex. "You can't expect someone to go to the parking lot if he has to make a small urgent purchase. Such customers just make a quick stop by the shop, purchase and get going. But because of the goonda raj of the police, people feel harassed - both the customers and shopkeepers," added the seller.
"As soon as the customer parks his/her vehicle outside the shop, his concentration is more on listening to the siren of the police vehicle and less on the shopping experience," a retailer told G Plus.
The authorities respond to the parking woes
The police have criticised the people who have a complete disregard for the rules. "There is a signboard written that parking is available in the old jail campus, yet people will park their car on the main road. We levy fines but they seem to not care," said Jayanta Das of Fancy Bazar Police Station.
As per official estimates, the police have already fined more than Rs 3,00,000 lakhs in COVID-19 violation in Fancy Bazar jurisdiction. Along with that traffic violation amounting to Rs 500 and Rs, 2,000 are a daily occurrence.
"People have no sense of discipline and they don't give importance to us. A lot of media portals say that parking awareness needs to be done, but aren't they all educated to know where to park their car?" stated Das.