The
Galleria market
is one of Gurgaon's most popular hangout and shopping destinations. The market, which houses over 50 shops, restaurants and bars, sees thousands of visitors every day and a high footfall. The problem of parking has been prevalent here, as the market’s limited parking area gets filled soon. But, till recently, motorists utilised an empty plot adjacent to the market to park their vehicles whenever the parking was full. Last week, the plot was cordoned off as construction began there. The sudden reduction in the availibility of parking spaces has led to long queues in the parking lot of the market, where people have to wait for over half-an-hour, while some actually choose to dangerously park on the main road in front of the market, effectively blocking two full lanes of the already narrow road.
(BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
(BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
'Takes 30 minutes to find a parking spot now'Regular visitors to the market say they were taken by surprise with the sudden reduction in parking spaces and the delay it leads to now. Rajat Dhawan, a resident of Phase IV, tells us, "Earlier, there was an empty lot right next to the market that could accommodate 40-50 cars, but now, that is closed due to construction. So, there is less space for parking. During rush hour on weekends, the situation is so bad that you have to wait 30-40 minutes to find a parking spot." Anita Vishwakarma, a Sector 50 resident, says, "At times, there are 20 cars waiting for a parking spot to open up and during rush hours, those spots take time to vacate, which means you are stuck in that endless queue. And of course, since most people try and park haphazardly, that makes matters worse."
'People park anywhere, which leads to further chaos'Visitors say that when people don’t find a legitimate parking spot, they ‘find’ it behind any car, which leads to jams and delays. Shuchismita Chakroborty, a resident of Sector 43 and a regular to the market, says, "The situation is so bad that now I have to circumnavigate the market several times just to find one parking spot. It usually takes me 20-25 minutes to do that. The biggest reason is that people double park and park haphazardly on the roadside, which blocks the walkway too." Avneet Singh, a banking professional from Sector 43, recounts, "On Saturday, someone parked behind my car and I could not take my car out. I yelled at the guard, but he said he was away when that car was parked. It took me half an hour to track down the person whose car it so that I could leave." Parking attendants say that they try and maintain some order in the parking, but their advice usually falls on deaf ears. A guard posted in the parking area says, "Hum toh sab ko keh keh kar thak gaye theek se gaadi lagane ko, par koi sunta hi nahi!"
Roadside parking and waiting cabs lead to jams on the main roadAttendants say that because of the space crunch, the parking has spilled out on to the road in front of the market. We spoke to a motorist who was parked on the road outside the market, and he said, “I don’t have any other option. I know this isn’t the right thing to do, but either I can wait for an hour to get parking or maybe park on the roadside and go in. It’s just a matter of a couple of hours.” Cabs and autos ferrying passengers to and from the market also have to stop in the middle of the road as the edge of the road is taken up by parked cars. Rajesh, a cabbie, says, "Pehle hum log side mein car laga kar wait karte thay, par ab wahan cars park hoti hain toh bilkul beech mein rukna padta hai. Yeh safe nahi par kya karein?" Cops stationed nearby clear the roadside parking, but say as soon as they turn their backs, the cars return.
Motorists who take that route say that during evenings the road gets difficult to drive on as two of the four lanes are taken up by the parked cars and autos. Arundhati Roy, who works nearby, says, "In the evenings, one of the lanes is fully taken up by cars. During weekends, half of the road is gone and since it’s a busy road and there is a signal right next to it, it leads to jams very frequently. I feel like leaving my car and walking down to this place now because that is more convenient."
The parking area which is right outside Galleria is now usually packed, waiting for a spot for 30-40 mins, or parking their vehicles on the road (BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
The parking area which is right outside Galleria is now usually packed, waiting for a spot for 30-40 mins, or parking their vehicles on the road (BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)