Chandigarh: Agitated traders in Sector 22 staged a protest on Wednesday against delays in recarpeting and reconstructing the local paid parking area, briefly blocking its entrance before police intervened to restore normal traffic flow.The parking lot was left in a dug-up state after the municipal corporation’s (MC’s) public health wing laid storm drainage pipelines a couple of months ago, forcing shoppers and commuters to navigate uneven surfaces and temporary earth-filling.Traders stated that the unpaved surface and lack of marked spaces have resulted in widespread haphazard parking, directly impacting customer footfall and business in the busy market area.Although tenders for base scarifying and road recarpeting had been awarded earlier, municipal officials cited the recent monsoon season as the primary reason for delaying work on the ground.Area municipal councillor Damanpreet Singh dismissed the demonstration as a political stunt, assuring that all paperwork is complete and construction will commence within four to five days.“Though the president and other main office bearers are being regularly informed about the scenario and rain, some other traders of the market held the protest despite knowing the facts that the work is going to begin in coming four to five days, just to grab political mileage,” Singh said.Confirming the timeline, MC officials stated that ground execution for the allotted tender will begin next week.
