Snarls around Delhi's Khan Market may end

NEW DELHI: Visitors may soon expect a hassle-free entry and exit from Khan Market if things go as planned. NDMC has started working on the much-awaited underground parking lot on Amrita Shergill Marg, which is expected to ease the congestion and traffic snarls plaguing this major shopping hub in central Delhi.
Acting on a petition by traders, the high court had ordered the council to solve the parking problem. Though the land was allotted to the civic body in 2011, it failed to start work all these years.
NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar while presenting the budget for 2017-18 proposed to begin work on this project and to implement pedestrianisation of the market by 2018.
Kumar said that the council had started clearing an area measuring 4,972sq m plot and would allow surface parking until the designs were prepared. If required, the council may hire a consultant to develop a multilevel underground parking facility.
“We have started the work on the plot. There is a small structure, which is being demolished. The design work has already been started,” said Kumar.
He informed that the construction of multilevel parking facility would be carried out on “design, build and finance” model. The entire work is likely to be outsourced. After its completion, the parking facility will have a capacity to accommodate at least 400 vehicles.
At present, the surface parking space at Khan Market is for 500 cars, of which 50% belong to the traders. The shopkeepers have nevertheless welcomed the NDMC move.
“This is a good move. The work has started after a gap of over five years. Khan Market is facing parking problems and it is important to develop an underground multilevel facility as there is literally no space on the surface. On a daily basis, 700-800 vehicles are parked in the market, which is always jam-packed,” said Sanjiv Mehra, president of Khan Market Traders’ Association.
Mehra added that the traders had met the NDMC chairman, who apparently said that battery-operated vehicles can be used to ferry visitors from the parking lot to the main market. “We don’t have any issue if NDMC wants to make Khan Market a vehicle-free zone provided it develops the basic infrastructure. We have already lost six years; NDMC should complete the project at the earliest.”