U'khand HC reiterates order on prior booking of parking spaces

The Uttarakhand High Court today reiterated its order asking tourists planning to visit the town in their private vehicles to book parking slots in advance.

A division bench comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Lokpal Singh showed appreciation for India's hospitality traditions as reflected in the Sanskrit adage "Atithi Devo Bhava" (guests are like gods) but said guests were welcome and their vehicles were not.

The court also asked the district administration to adequately publicise the restriction imposed on entry of vehicles from outside the town through newspaper reports and press notes so that visitors don't face any last minute hassles.

Earlier the high court had directed the district administration to publish advertisements in newspapers declaring that any person planning to visit the town with a personal vehicle during the months of May through July must ensure that they had prior arrangements for parking their vehicles.

The order came on a PIL expressing concern over the ever increasing traffic in the town and its consequences during the peak tourist season.

District Magistrate Vinod Kumar Suman apprised the court that satellite parking was already in place at HMT Haldwani and another was under construction in Narayan Nagar.

Apart from these, parking spaces were also being explored at cantonment area and at Ashok theatre. This would provide parking for about 1000 vehicles in the vicinity of Nainital. Tourists parking their cars in these spots would be provided shuttle services to the town, he said.

The court also directed the town vending committee to decide the vendor zone matter and complete the optical fiber cable laying within two weeks.

Earlier, 74 vendors had filed a plea before the court saying that the town vending committee had been holding regular meetings since 2014 and the last meeting was held in February this year, yet no conclusion was arrived at regarding their place of work.