Manipur: Paona Bazaar closed indefinitely to protest against the government’s parking roll
Imphal: Angry shopkeepers in Paona Bazaar, Imphal West, Manipur, broke the shutters on Wednesday afternoon in protest against the state government’s decision to reduce parking of bazaars and surrounding roads.
On Tuesday, to ease traffic congestion in the market areas, the Imphal Municipal Corporation (IMC) issued an order stating, “All parking slots at the bottom of Thangal Road by IMC / For the management of public parking at the sites (Ima Keithel No. 1 to Khoyathong Crossing) and Paona Raof (from Sun Medicos Pharmacy to the end of Paona International Market) traffic was disrupted due to unorganized parking of vehicles. Due to heavy congestion, the next order has been put on hold.
“How can we run our business if our customers are not allowed to park their cars in the market for even a few minutes?” Rohan asked.
Imphal West City Police Officer Santosh said, “As per government order, all residents, shop owners, shopkeepers and shoppers have also been directed to park their vehicles in the Naganala section. However, shopkeepers are saying. If customers’ vehicles are not allowed to enter the market, their business will suffer.
Earlier, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had announced to remove all vacant parking on the side of the road and appealed to the citizens to refrain from parking their vehicles on the side of the road.