IMPHAL, Feb 10: Hoping to deliver to shoppers the freedom from maddening traffic congestion, Paona Bazar and Thangal Bazar have been declared as pedestrian zone, totally shunting out vehicular movement for most part of the daytime, on a trial basis for one month beginning Monday.
The restriction on entry of motor vehicles will be effected between 9am to 1pm and 3pm to 5pm. In the intervening two-hour gap normal plying of light motor vehicles and hand carts will be allowed. However, emergency services like fire tenders and ambulances among others and those residents certified by authorities of having own garages will be exempted from the purview of the new regulations.
Already, the transport department had identified and made mass circulation of more than a dozen public parking sites within the central market place of Imphal and its peripheral areas, at easy walking distances from the areas as an advanced step.
DSP Traffic, Victoria Yengkhom made an appeal to the media to provide prominent space to the new traffic regulations around the city centre to create maximum sensitization among the public and wayward VIPs. She sought full cooperation from the public as well, citing that the traffic police which bore the major brunt of troubles in maintaining road safety and traffic regulations are functioning without modern gadgets and inadequate human resources.
At all points leading to the two routes, drop gates and sign boards detailing instructions about the new regulations and information of nearby public parking lots for public knowledge will be raised, she said.
Though the police officer exuded confidence about successfully easing the traffic chaos along the commercially busy routes, she made it clear that the arrangement was wholly experimental and the period will be a learning curb for her team as well, potentially for configuration of a potent and practical traffic policy.
She further revealed an ongoing official discussion involving other governmental apparatus to hike the parking fees in the market areas and to calculate them propotionately to the span of time to deter owners for unnecessarily occupying spaces.
She also put forward the idea of implementing congestion taxes as another deterrent to long-duration parking.
Deputy director of transport, Shivdas Sharma stated that the department has sought permission from relevant state authority to develop the Naga Nullah as parking spots for two-wheelers. Once the roofing of the nullah is completed, hundreds of vehicles can be parked there at one time and the western side of Nagamapal road and Wahengbam Leikai road can be utilised as parking for four-wheelers, he said, expressing sureness that it can be the solution to getting riddance of vehicles from the city market.