Traders oppose pay and park system mooted by Madurai corporation

Traders in Madurai oppose pay and park system near Meenakshi Temple, preferring traffic police and road improvements.

 Traders and trade organisations located around Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai have opposed the idea of pay and park system proposed by Madurai City Corporation at the public hearing organised here on Wednesday. 

Representatives of a private firm, Park Lens, pitched the idea of the pay and parking system on important roads near the temple to reduce congestion.  The representative of the firm said the paid parking system would not only reduce unnecessary parking on busy roads and congestion on roads but also would improve business for the commercial establishments. 

“Studies conducted in some countries proved that controlling of vehicle parking would help in improving business for the shops as more customers will be able to reach the place, who otherwise would not walk all the way to the place after parking their vehicles at a distance,” the representative said.  

S.P. Jeyapragasam, honorary advisor, Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association, who spoke at the public hearing, opposed the idea of the corporation to rope in a private firm to bring the traffic under control. He said, “Instead of the paid parking, deploying more traffic police personnel and relaying roads near the temple would streamline traffic.” 

Further, as goods vehicles were allowed inside the city from 12 noon to 3 p.m., it adds to the traffic as all vehicles rush en masse within the stipulated hours. “If the timing is changed as 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be ample time for the lorries to bring in goods and leave the place. This can also control heavy vehicle movement in the peak hours,” he said. 

Krishnamoorthy of Madurai Oil and Oil Seeds Association said that it was condemnable that the Corporation calling had convened a meeting of stakeholders pretending to discuss the matter while it seemed everything had been decided beforehand.  Moreover, models conceived in developed countries cannot be tried out in Madurai, a ‘big village,’ he said.  

Chalking out specific plans to control traffic and vehicle congestion was the only lasting solution. For the time being, the present one-way rules were adequate to address traffic congestion around the temple, he added.