Where is the place?

CAR BOOM

Cars are no longer looked upon as luxurious commodities. Now with the availability of easy vehicle loans, common man can also afford a four-wheeler. All car manufacturers have their eyes set on the expanding vehicle market of the country and do everything they can to extend their customer network. The steep increase of four wheelers on the roads is not just causing traffic menace, but has also led to the scarcity of parking lots.
People, who live in housing societies and apartments, have their own parking facilities.

However, those living in independent houses, especially tenants, often face parking problems. When there is no parking space available at their residential site, people resort to parking their cars outside the gate, sometimes even on roadsides. Many families own more than one car but since most housing societies provide space for only one car per family, they face the same problem too. 

“I am a tenant in a three storeyed building which has a parking space where a four wheeler and two motorbikes can be parked at a time. I thought of buying a used car for my regular use. But since another family, also living as tenants in the building, have a hatchback car, there is no place inside the building for me to park. So since the day I bought the vehicle, I have been parking it outside the gate. Many people in this locality park their vehicles on the road,” says Raghav, a resident of Banashankari 3rd Stage.

As long as there is no ‘bandh’ or violence, people don’t have any problem with this arrangement. But when a bandh is declared or sudden violence erupts, vehicle owners start searching for a safer place. “I stay in an apartment and since I don’t have a four-wheeler, my friends often take my help to park their vehicles during emergencies. During bandhs, I start getting calls from all my friends who don’t have a proper parking space. If I favour one, the others get upset so I am thinking of buying my own car,” says Chandrashekar, a resident of J P Nagar.

Inconsiderate parking of cars on the roads creates many problems. “In Bangalore, most roads are narrow, especially in residential localities. Parking of cars on the roads affects free movement of traffic. And particularly in our locality, children are not supposed to play on the streets as there are chances of parked cars being damaged. Also, when we park a car on the street, another vehicle may hit it and it can become a reason for dispute among neighbours,” says Prasanna, an entrepreneur.

“But if one doesn’t have parking space, that doesn’t mean he cannot buy a car. Last July, the Sikkim Government issued a notification as per which, an individual has to produce a certificate showing the availability of parking space to get his or her vehicle registered. Such kind of laws should be introduced in the City to make people think about parking lots before buying vehicles irrationally,” he adds.