Illegal roadside parking at Bapuji Nagar in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar: April 3: Janpath is on the way to becoming an eight-lane thoroughfare, but long before the expansion plan comes to fruition, traders and businessmen of busy Bapuji Nagar are complaining about parking woes.

Traders said the expansion work on Janpath from Shishu Bhavan to Rajamahal had resulted in them not being able to park their vehicles; nor can customers park theirs. They have appealed to the authorities for a dedicated parking space.

“Earlier, we had some space to park vehicles on the roadside. But ever since work began to expand the road, that parking space has been occupied. We are really facing a lot of problems,” said Subrat Mishra, a trader.

There are more than 4,000 business establishments in Bapuji Nagar, out of which nearly 500 are situated beside this stretch of Janpath. During peak hours, the area becomes congested because of the heavy rush of vehicles. Parking problems assume serious proportions during these hours. “Sometimes, traffic policemen slap fines on those who park their vehicles on the road. They even tow away the vehicles. This discourages our customers from visiting our stores and we are losing business,” said Sarat Kumar Dutta, a businessman.

The 900-metre stretch of the road from Shishu Bhavan to Rajmahal is being expanded to eight lanes. The entire stretch of the road on the Bapuji Nagar side has been dug up to build a drain and footpath.

“Whenever I come to Bapuji Nagar to buy anything, I find it difficult to park my vehicle. There really should be a designated parking place in this area,” said Upendra Gantayat, a customer shopping in the area.

Some businessmen from the area recently wrote letters to the chief engineer of the roads and building department, the police commissioner of the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police and the commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to provide them with dedicated parking space.

Police said they were aware of the lack of parking space. They maintained, however, that fines had to be imposed to ensure that traffic regulations were not violated. “We hope there will be a quick solution to the problems of the businessmen and the public,” said a senior police officer.

The executive engineer of the public works department (PWD) division II, under which the road expansion work is going on, said that the road has been expanded 14 metres on both sides for the eight lanes. Between the roads, there is a 20-feet wide space. “We plan to leave this space for parking,” said Ranjit Sahu, the executive engineer.

BMC officials, on the other hand, said that a joint team of officials from BMC, the general administration (GA) department, roads and building department and police had been formed that would earmark parking spaces in the city.

“Once the expansion work of this road is finished, a clear picture about the parking area will emerge. A dedicated parking space can be developed once the GA department approves it,” said BMC deputy commissioner, Priyadarshi Mohapatra.