Title - Auto drivers give parking lot a miss

Bathinda : Despite being allocated a separate parking space outside the Bathinda railway station, the haphazardly-parked autos and private vehicles continue to create chaos around the railway station.A traffic policeman deployed outside the railway station said despite the strict instructions given to them, the auto drivers were not willing to park their vehicles inside the allocated parking area.There is a paid parking area on the premises of the railway station. This area is designated for the city residents to park their private vehicles. Another parking area, outside the eating joints, has been allocated for the autos.The constable added that he was unable to issue a challan to any of the wrongly-parked vehicle outside the railway station since the senior police functionaries had been told to deploy a head constable or a police official with powers to issue a challan to streamline the traffic situation outside the railway station.“Ever since the city’s traffic police started towing away the wrongly-parked vehicles, the traffic situation outside the station has eased a bit. But the autos parked by the roadside still lead to jams,” said Gogi Bassi, a shopkeeper.He added that although three signboards had come up around the railway station to direct the autos to the parking area, the auto drivers continued to park their vehicles by the roadside.

While admitting that autos parked outside the railway station were adding to the traffic nuisance, president of the Railway Station Auto Union, Naanu, said those auto drivers were not a part of the union.

“We have 40 autos at the railway station and there is space of parking 35 autos inside the railway station," Naanu said. He said the drivers were required to pay to park their autos at the designated parking area. He also added that nearly 200 autos kept shuttling between various bus stands and the railway station.

ASP City-II, Kuldip Chahal assured that steps would be taken to issue challans to the wrongly-parked autos outside the railway station to ease out the traffic chaos, especially during the peak hours.