Vijayawada: Gandhi Nagar grapples with parking woes

Vijayawada: Gandhi Nagar, one of the oldest and busiest colonies in Vijayawada, faces severe vehicle parking problem due to increasing commercial activity.

Gandhi Nagar is well known for movie theatres, film distributors, government offices, hotels, restaurants, footwear showrooms and other commercial establishments. Everyday thousands of people visit Gandhi Nagar for various purposes, who face problem while parking their vehicles.

Important offices like Tahsildar office, Sub-Registrar office, district jail, banks, insurance corporation offices and other private offices are in Gandhi Nagar.

When the colony was formed around 70 years ago, it was mostly a residential colony. However, during the last few decades, commercial activity multiplied, and movement of vehicles and traffic increased in the area. Many buildings don't have parking space and no cellars. Hence, vehicle parking became a major issue near the Tahsildar office and the sub-registrar office and people were forced to park their vehicles on the road itself. This led to traffic problems in peak hours.

Gandhi Nagar is also well known for hotels, restaurants and shops. Customers visiting shops and hotels are forced to park their vehicles on the road. Also, since Gandhi Nagar is located in the heart of the city. several hundred buses pass through the colony.

K Jayaraj, a footwear shop owner, said that he could not stop customers from parking vehicles in front of his shop. He said traders got used to this.

Meanwhile, it's an arduous task for bus drivers to turn the vehicle near New India Hotel junction. Accidents are a common sight at this turning junction.

The officials are clueless to change the route. As it is one of the oldest colonies in the city, the RTC has difficulty in finding alternative route to run the buses. Commuters are also facing problem due to the narrow road, connecting Gandhi Nagar and BRTS road.

The VMC has not taken up road widening work for a long time. The narrow road connects Satyanarayanapuram and Gandhi Nagar areas and used by a large number of commuters. It is also very difficult to cross the narrow road during peak hours of morning and evening.