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Aarti Kapur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 9
From next month, get ready to pay for parking when you visit the Panjab University campus as the authorities have decided to impose a parking fee, initially for outsiders.
According to the proposal, visitors will have to pay Rs 10 for parking a four-wheeler while no fee will be charged for a two-wheeler. The vehicles will be parked at a lot being constructed for the purpose near the gate. For commuting inside the campus, e-rickshaws will be available at the gate for the visitors.
The university authorities have taken this initiative as a first step towards making the campus vehicle-free, which the students had favoured in a referendum last year. During the first phase, 30 e-rickshaws will be stationed at the gate for the visitors. The frequency of the bus shuttle service on the campus will also be increased for the convenience of the visitors.
PU Dean Students Welfare Navdeep Goyal confirmed that the authorities had decided to introduce paid parking for outsiders. He said there were plans that later, paid parking would be introduced for students as well.
Giving details about the future plans, he said during the second phase, undergraduate students residing in hostels would not be allowed to keep vehicles from the next academic session.
A referendum was conducted by the university during the Panjab University Campus Students Council elections last year to know whether student vehicles (four-wheelers) should be allowed in the academic areas of the North and South campuses at Sector 14 and Sector 25, respectively.
As many as 3,315 (53.2 per cent) students voted in favour of a ban on student vehicles while 2,916 (46.8 per cent) students voted in favour of allowing student vehicles in the academic areas of the North campus. Similarly, 3,200 (51.3 per cent) students voted in favour of a ban on student vehicles in the academic areas of the South campus while 3,034 (48.7 per cent) students voted in favour of allowing student vehicles.
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