AMC’s West Zone seals 180 shops over parking space

GNN | Feb 01, 2020, 12:25 PM IST|

• French giant Decathlon shop plus 91 units of University Plaza in Navrangpura sealed

GNN Report
Ahmedabad, 01 Feb 2020: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) finally cracked the whip on commercial and business units found to be using their parking spaces and lots for purposes other than parking. AMC’s West Zone Estate Department struck in the wee hours of Friday (January 31) and sealed 180 units and shops in 22 shopping malls and complexes.
The sealed units include a newly inaugurated showroom of well known sportswear brand Decathlon, Hotel Oyo Townhouse, Hotel Ashray Inn, Hotel Dev Aadi as well as 91 units of University Plaza in Navrangpura. Decathlon is a French sporting goods retailer. With over 1,500 stores in 49 countries and is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world.
“These units created obstacles by not using the allotted parking space in a correct manner as expected in commercial complexes,” said Chaitanya Shah, AMC’s Estate Officer. “So as per the direction of the Gujarat High Court, we have sealed the units.”
GNN learns the units will remain sealed until the parking spaces are restored for public usage.
In some places, especially in hotels, basement parking lots were being used as storage spaces while at other places parking spaces were converted into small shops. At other places, people were not allowed to park their vehicles for miscellaneous reasons, despite parking spaces being available.
The AMC also sealed basement spaces in five buildings: Maurya Times Square, Sundaram Arcade, Pusthi Heights, Ashray Aries and Navratna Business Park. These spaces were not used for parking.
“Due to the obstacles and change of purpose in parking spaces, people were parking on the road, leading to traffic congestion. We will continue this drive in the coming days to keep people in line,” Chaitanya said.
AMC’s Estate Department on Friday visited 63 buildings across Ahmedabad.