Hyderabad: City hotels, including big names, regularly encroach on main roads and use them as parking spaces. A chain of hotels on M.G. Road, Nampally, are examples.
The GHMC building permission clearly states that 60 per cent of space should be left for parking in case for commercial structures, while hotels either use the main roads or tie up with apartments for parking or use open grounds.
In fact, the GHMC head office itself does not have 60 per cent parking area.
The hotel managements, meanwhile, pay weekly bribes to traffic cops, contributing to slow vehicular movement and frequent traffic jams.
The situation, particularly noticeable on the major trunk routes of the city, not only results in traffic snarls, but also causes inconvenience to pedestrians.
Under the Central Zone of the corporation, most eateries from Khairatabad Junction to Erragadda use the main road, leading to regular traffic jams.
It is the same situation at Liberty crossroads to Narayanguda, YMCA junction to Taj Hotel via King Koti and the NMDC junction (Masab Tank) to Rethibowli Road. In the East Zone at Y-junction Kukatpally to JNTU
In the North Zone, even small commercial set-ups, including cinemas, are using main roads for parking. The newly constructed footpaths on Sarojini Devi Road have already been occupied by vehicles.
“Although a new footpath has been laid, one cannot use it as it is occupied by vehicles. We have to walk carefully to the extreme left of the roads to avoid the rushing vehicles.
Footpaths, which are not used for parking, are used for urination in many places. Forget using the footpath, it is horrible to even pass by as they stink,” said Sapna Rekha, a resident of Mettuguda.
In 2010, the GHMC had prepared a schedule to track down illegal parking by commercial establishments zone wise. However, the schedule remains on paper.
A senior traffic inspector of North Zone said, “Vehicles found parked on the roads are being fined and seized as well; several cases have been booked and hotel owners are also warned.”
