Panchkula: Sector 20 residents bear brunt of protest against paid parking

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, December 22

As all shops in Sector 20 had remained shut up to 3 pm on Wednesday (the last day of the five-day protest by the Sector 20 Residents Welfare Association and the Market Welfare Association), residents bore the brunt of the protest.

Next course of action

If the authorities don’t scrap paid parking at Sector 20 and stop the destruction of the green belt, we will mobilise all RWAs and market associations to stage a district-level protest on January 7. KK Jindal, president, Sector 20 RWA

Meanwhile, members of the RWA and the market association staged a demonstration outside the Municipal Corporation in Sector 14 and criticised the civic body for the “anti-public” move.

The protesters were also up in arms over the “destruction” of the green belt to make Ashiana flats as well as persistent civic issues in the sector.

“If authorities don’t scrap paid parking at Sector 20 and stop the destruction of the green belt, we will mobilise all RWAs and market associations to stage a district-level protest on January 7 next year,” said KK Jindal, president of the Sector 20 RWA.

“I criticise the statements given by Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta and Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal in the media that paid parking will not be rolled back. It’s highly condemnable,” he added.

“Contrary to our plans of planting more and more trees to keep the environment green, the administration is adamant on destroying the green belt in our sector, which has more than 3,000 trees,” Jindal stated.

“50 per cent of our businesses has been affected after the introduction of the paid parking system in the sector market,” said Surinder Kathpal, president of the market welfare association.

He said the implementation of the paid parking system in Sector 20 was a “politically motivated step.”

Leaders of the Congress and the JJP also extended their support to the protest.

Among leaders who joined the protest were former Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan, former Mayor Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia, Ward 20 councillor from Congress Salim Dabkouri and Ward 14 councillor from JJP Sushil Garg.