Muhammad Saleem

Parking issues at Faisalabad’s main commercial hub are leading to a decline in business activities, forcing customers to move to other places.

Talking to WealthPK, Senior Vice President of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Qaiser Shams said the traffic and vehicle parking issues in the city areas were deteriorating with each passing day. He stressed that the administration must complete and operationalize the parking plazas so that the parking issues at some of the markets could be resolved. The parking plaza outside the famous Chiniot Bazaar has been on the back burner for a couple of years and is yet to be completed. When this project was launched, it was believed that the parking issues at the Clock Tower bazaars would be over.

However, the district administration has yet to construct the ground floor. Qaiser Shams said a coordinated and long-term strategy through mutual consultation was the need of the hour to permanently address the severe traffic and parking issues. He pointed out that one parking plaza for the Clock Tower markets was not enough and suggested that the administration construct a multi-story parking plaza outside Karkhana Bazaar. He said construction of more parking plazas would boost the business activities. Besides, he urged the district administration to repair the broken traffic signals, which would help motorists reach their destinations timely.

Ijaz Ahmed, owner of a shop in Kutchery Bazaar, told WealthPK that inadequate parking facilities were restricting the customers from visiting the Clock Tower area. “Why would customers come here if they have to struggle to find parking? We have been raising the parking issue for a couple of years, as this problem is driving our customers to choose other shopping destinations.” Imran Malik, another shopkeeper of Jhang Bazaar, suggested that a high-level committee – comprising officials from all relevant departments – should be constituted to resolve the traffic and parking issues.

He said the removal of encroachments would ensure a smooth flow of traffic, enabling people to reach the Clock Tower markets easily. He complained that instead of making special parking arrangements in the nearby spacious areas, the district administration had imposed parking fees on motorcycles and other vehicles using the Clock Tower bazaars. Earlier, such vehicles were parked by the shopkeepers and customers in the same bazaars without any charges.

Credit: INP-WealthPk