MEERUT: From Dusshera to Bhai Dooj, residents of Meerut had to face chaotic traffic condition despite route diversions and traffic police trying its best to manage vehicles round the clock.The reasons are not hard to find. With each passing year, close to 5,000 vehicles increase on Meerut roads but little is done to manage the snarl-ups.Lack of proper parking facilities adds to the traffic woes. One multilevel parking facility that was proposed way back in 2015, got entangled in legal wrangles after the high court ordered a stay on its construction. The order came in response to a PIL filed by a Meerut-based RTI activist Lokesh Khurana who contended that by constructing this parking lot, Meerut Development Authority ( MDA ) was violating the Park, Playground Preservation Act, 1975 which bars any authority from destroying any playground or park.The parking lot was to come up in a park in Town Hall area in the busy Ghantaghar region. However, whatever said and done, the city is certainly in dire need of multilevel parking in at least three areas to decongest the ever-increasing vehicular traffic.The first one is in Town Hall. Jams are rampant in the area due to encroachments. The presence of fruit vendors and extended shops on the road immensely contributing to the problem. Though the number of four-wheelers plying in this area is less than in other parts of the city, the area is chock-a-block with cyclists and two-wheelers.Though the area has a multi-level parking lot with a capacity to house 320 cars, few bother to park their vehicles there. According to the caretaker of the parking lot inside the premises of the Town Hall Library, who did not wish to be named, “Not more than 25 cars get parked in the premises in the entire day.”Another area what is in need of decongestion is Kutchery Road junction, where the district court is housed. Thousands of people arrive at the district court everyday. Since many have to traverse long distances, most people come either in cars or public transport.At any time of the day, more than 300 cars are parked in and around the court premises. Even inside the court, more than 200 vehicles are usually parked. This not only poses a security hazard but also creates a perennial traffic snarl. A multilevel parking is certainly a necessity here.A veteran lawyer, KK Pahwa, said, “Courts are always vulnerable to attacks by antisocial elements. Recently, there was a shootout in the court premises. Lesser traffic will make life easier and manageable here.”Abu Lane is yet another area where jams are common. Often termed as the Connaught Place of Meerut, Abu Lane houses some of high-end shopping complexes and showrooms. No wonder, the area is clogged with vehicles of all sizes. To make matters worse, the parking lot is at the centre of the road, making it rather difficult for commuters to negotiate on the remaining patch. There is a never-ending chaos not just on the main road but also on the link roads.More than 400 cars and SUVs are estimated to be in and around Abu Lane at any time of the day. Sundays are worse.Eves Chowk is yet another point that reflects the sorry state of traffic management in the city. Despite a broad road with a divider, frustration is writ large over the faces of commuters. This junction joins Shivaji Road and Budhana Gate Road. It is perhaps one of the busiest junctions but also has a large number of business establishments, hospitals and clinics in the area.There is no parking lot anywhere and people park their vehicles anywhere on the roadside, leading to a chaotic situation. It often takes more than half-an-hour to negotiate through the jam in this area.According to a doctor in the area, “More than the traffic chaos , it is the dust that people inhale when they get trapped in a jam. The condition of shopkeepers and even doctors is worse because all the time they get exposed to vehicular fumes. There is need for a permanent solution to this problem.”Circle officer, traffic, Sanjeev Deshwal said, “We can only issue challans and in the past one year, we have recovered Rs 20 lakh in the form of fines but that is not a solution actually. In the absence of parking facilities, where will the owner of a four-wheeler park? Our role is only confined to policing. In the past one month, we have sent 300 driving licences for temperory suspension to the RTO office for flouting rules. Other authorities need to chip in to provide the facilities.”

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