In Noida, people may not dread going to office as much as they cringe at the thought of having to hunt for a parking spot near their overcrowded workplaces – which they say is almost an impossible task. The rows of cars parked outside offices and lack of indoor parking spaces also leads to traffic congestion during peak hours. To emerge triumphant in the quest of parking spots, Noidawallahs are resorting to all kinds of measures – from yelling at each other to bribing vendors to reserve spots. paying rickshaw-pullers to reserve parking spots.The best parking spots are taken early in the morning. So, some officegoers resort to paying roadside vendors, auto drivers or rickshaw-pullers to reserve a free parking spot for them, since the daily parking charge in permitted spots is Rs 80 for four-wheelers.“I have made a deal with a rickshaw-puller, who parks his rickshaw in the area where there are no parking charges. When I come, I park my car in that spot and give him Rs 30. It is convenient for me, and the rickshaw-puller also gets to earn a little extra,” says Abeer Aftab, a digital marketing specialist, who works in Sector 16.He adds that his colleagues have followed his lead and are using the trick themselves too.“Two of my colleagues have made a similar deal with a vendor, when my colleagues come, he makes space for them and they park their cars near his shop. They are regular customers of his, so he obliges them,” says Aftab.Sector-126The hunt for parking spots leads to chaos on the roads, several times commuters ram their cars into the other’s, followed by the obvious – yelling.“Once, I was reversing my car when another car bumped into mine. Even though it was the other person’s fault, they came and yelled at me for not ‘looking before reversing’. Since all of us are already stressed from our jobs and rushing to go home, some tend to lose their temper easily,” says Shivangi Prakash, a resident of Sector 29, who works at an IT firm in Sector 126.Noida’s working professionals add that arguments with the parking attendants are also a frequent occurrence. “A number of people from my staff have gotten into fights with the parking attendants outside our office. The road opposite our office building used to be free from attendants, and many people started parking their cars there for free. However, the attendants used to puncture the tyres out of spite which led to huge arguments,” says Sumil Jalota, a resident of Greater Noida West, who works at a software firm in Sector 132. “I then told my staff to stay away from trouble as it would only lead to our loss. Though the attendants have changed now, people refrain from parking their vehicle on that road,” he adds.As the yelling continues, many use it as an excuse to yell at their bosses as well. “I was once in a queue for parking and I saw my boss breaking the queue and going ahead. Even though I knew it was my boss I yelled at him from behind for breaking the line. When I finally got to go according to my turn, I lied to my boss saying I didn’t know it was him,” said Nitin Rana, a resident of Sector 93B, who works at an IT firm in Sector 127.Double-parked cars, drivers going on the wrong side cause chaos on the streetsAs the number of employees with cars exceeds the number of parking spots available in the office premises, some firms issue parking passes to a select number of employees – who are eligible to park inside the office – according to a specific schedule.“There are around 3,000 employees who travel by their cars to office, but the parking space is only for 1,000 cars. Hence, every month, 1,000 employees are given a parking pass that makes them eligible to park inside the office, while the others have to make alternate arrangements. As a result, after getting parking relief for a month, we have to wait for another two months to get a parking inside office,” says Vinayana Khurana, a Sector 19 resident, who works at a consultancy firm in Sector 62.In offices where the parking spots are at a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis, late-comers have to park their cars far away from their offices.“It takes me more time to park my car near office than it does for me to get to work. There is utter chaos during work hours outside our office, and I am forced to park my car 10-minutes away from the office,” says Isha Wadhwa, a Sector 50 resident, who works in Sector 16A.Sometimes people accidentally park in no-parking spots, and have to rush in the middle of work to rescue their cars from being towed. “Once I had parked my car on the main road since there was no space near my office. However, at around 11am, there was an announcement in the office that a car with our company’s sticker was being towed away. I had to stop work and rush to the spot to save my car from getting towed after paying the fine,” says Latika Bhushan who works at a mobile manufacturing firm in Sector 63.Since many park their cars in parking spots on blocks other than their office’s, women say it becomes unsafe to walk the long distance to get their car when they leave office late evening.“I reach office around 11am and have to stay till 9pm. Since I don’t get a parking spot near office at that time, I park my car in the C-block parking which is a 15-minute walk from my office. When it gets late, I feel unsafe walking in the dark, and take a rickshaw instead to get to my car,” said Sakshi Dhawan, an Indirapuram resident, who works at an IT firm in Sector 65.Sector 3-4 main roadWhile the four months of winter don’t pose a problem, Noida’s office-goers struggle during the rest of the year to get a parking spot which is in the shade, or is away from puddles and potholes. “Everyone wants to park their cars under a tree or in the shade so that their cars don’t get hot. There is always a rush among the commuters to get the best parking spot. Once my car got hit by another one as we were both aiming for the same shaded spot, even though there was ample parking space left around, but they were exposed,” says Vishwendra Tomar, a Vasundhara resident who works at a consultancy firm in Sector 135.Greater Noida West resident Alisha Siddhartha recalls, “I was once wearing a sari to office and it got spoiled because I couldn’t find a good parking spot. It was rainy season and I had to park my car in a puddle since there was no other space left. I tried my best to save my attire but it was completely ruined from below,” recalls Siddhartha who works in Sector 5.She adds that after that incident she has now started bribing the parking attendant only to get a better parking spot. “I got to know a few weeks later that some people bribe the attendant to get a better parking spot. I have also started doing the same now. Also, being a girl helps as we can request the attendant politely to give us the best spot available and he gives in,” adds Siddhartha.Sector 62’s IT ParkAccording to officials of Noida Authority, parking woes might be resolved soon as four parking facilities are set to be completed in the business districts.“An underground parking facility in Sector 16-A will be completed by March this year while three different parking facilities in Sectors 1, 3 and 5 are also under construction,” says Rajiv Tyagi, General Manager, Noida Authority.The parking in Sector 3 will have space for 566 vehicles, the one in Sector 5 will accommodate 262 vehicles, in Sector 1 it will have space for 534 vehicles and in Sector 16A the underground parking facility will have a capacity of 1,400 vehiclesMeanwhile the Authority has authorized majority of roadside parking in other office districts such as Sector 62-65 and Sector 126-132.

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