Triumphant moment

Residents of Shalimar Bagh and Ashok Vihar can breathe easy as parking lots under parks in their respective areas have finally been garaged-Aditya Mukherjee North Delhi. There is some good news for the residents of Shalimar Bagh and Ashok Vihar. The much-touted plan of MCD to build three-storey car parking lots under a neighbourhood park in AN-Block of Shalimar Bagh and in a park opposite Central Market in Ashok Vihar has finally been cancelled in the face of opposition. The MCD had announced a plan in March this year to build three-storey car parking lots in different places of Delhi to free the road space of parked vehicles. But, soon after the announcement of this plan, residents from respective localities started opposing this move on the ground that it would lead to the despoliation of greenery.Expressing relief at this positive development, Dr AB Ghosh, president of AN Block RWA, Shalimar Bagh, says, "Building underground parking at the expense of greenery is unfair. There needs to be some alternative site for underground parking.’’br> A visibly happy Dr HC Gupta, president of the Federation of Ashok Vihar RWAs, says, "We have been opposing this move tooth and nail right from day one. Had the underground parking lot come up, it would have led to more air and noise pollution in addition to traffic chaos.’’In fact, the latest move is in sync with LG Tejender Khanna’s order that parking lots should not be constructed by endangering the greenery and that alternative spaces should be looked for.