The tremendous growth in urbanisation of the cities has highlighted the parking issue that every metropolitan city faces. The ultimate goal for each state government is to get more and more IT companies and get people jobs in their city, which is an ideal thought a government have. The problem of parking and city planning tends to get underestimated by the same government. Hyderabad is one of the emerging cities of India, routes like Himayat Nagar, Gachibowli, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, and many other places are heavily affected because of traffic and congestion. There are a number of NO Parking boards throughout the routes but this cannot be an ultimate solution to divert traffic as it is obvious that if there is a NO PARKING board in a particular place then the car or bike which stopped to park there has to join the traffic again and get a new place to park which has to be in lesser traffic affected areas or dedicated parking lots.
It is difficult to park vehicles in such areas. Still, the basic sense that the Government needs to understand is that there are commercial buildings on either side of the road. None of them would allow any stranger to park a vehicle in their parking area unless the person does any transaction on their premises. It is obvious that a person wants to go to any of the commercial buildings but there are chances that the construction is old and might not have an underground parking area, or do not have any parking area itself. So here he/she is only left with an option to park on the road itself, increasing the congestion and worsening the situation even more. If the government knows that certain routes are busy then it is obvious that people’s movement in those areas is more and the NO PARKING boards would make no sense if the customers were forced to go away from that place it would affect Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution. These boards have not stopped the functioning of the businesses as a whole but, are causing hindrances to shopkeepers who are situated on busy routes.
It is difficult to make desired alterations in an already existing construction, but it is easier to make alterations in a construction which is yet to be completed. Similarly, it is difficult to make changes in a city like Hyderabad because the city is been in existence for a long time now, the planning of the city might need to be updated for the current scenario but there is always room for changes.
As there are commercial buildings on either side of the road and there can be buildings which are up for renovation in such cases government can enter into an agreement with such constructions by helping them with brand new construction and getting them resources and necessary requirements to go beyond the general permissible limit, because ultimately the government would try to resolve this issue of parking, so by permitting such constructions with more floors underground, can be a solution for this problem. If the State Government brainstorms and tries to find the best people in the state they can form a solid group of intelligent people who can collectively find a solution for such cases, maybe they can find a solution for going beyond the general permissible limit under the ground, because the problem when we dig and try to go deeper the Earth surface is majorly related to sewage, water or heavy rocks which cannot be broken easily. So if the group comes up with an idea then they can use the same idea in the new constructions which are taking place in these busy routes or anywhere in the city where it is required. It is optional that the group would come up with a solution but the State to resolve issues like parking shall make such efforts which may be of no positive outcome.
Dedicated parking buildings, it is a well-known fact that real estate is in a boom where the land rates have reached an all-time high. For example, Chandigarh being one of the most happening cities in India, has very few indoor playing areas, as the land is very costly, and even if someone has land there, he/she would rather invest in constructing a building and rent it out and earn monthly or annual rent. Similarly, the land rates in Hyderabad are too high and constructing a building, specifically for parking in busy city routes where the land rates would be the highest in the city, is an expensive option available to the government. Modern approaches in constructing such buildings would accommodate more vehicles, like using new technology and building smart buildings. The State of Telangana can even seek help from people at IITs or any institution to work on this problem, children studying in such colleges would take a keen interest in solving modern-day problems and put all their interests and ideas in solving such issues.
Cities like Bhubaneshwar and Chandigarh have tried to crack the issue of excessive vehicular movement on the roads. Bhubaneshwar has systematic parking on the road itself. Chandigarh is strict about speeding in the city they have speed limits on all categories of vehicles, word of mouth plays an important role and it will be easy to spread the message via social media because Chandigarh has mastered the skill of spreading word of mouth, they have conveyed the message to everyone residing in Chandigarh and made a clear and strict rule that any vehicle which goes beyond the prescribed speed limit shall be fined. So the government can get help from neighbouring states as well.
This article is based on findings in Hyderabad, there are other cities in the country which are facing similar issues, the reason for not mentioning other cities is that I’ve never been to such cities. These issues are in common throughout the country and there are few measures taken by the respective government.
It is the responsibility of the government to do something more, rather than sticking a NO PARKING board and there lies a responsibility on citizens to drive safely and responsibly. Moreover Park vehicles responsibly.
