Lahore: ‘No parking’ outside DHA cinema irks visitors, neighbours

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Cinema-goer says administration should at least provide security for cars parked nearby
* Staff member says cinema was started as experiment, larger cinema being constructed in Phase-VIII
* DHA PRO says boards indicate there is parking in front of nearby office but no boards found on inspection

By Umair Aziz

LAHORE: The lack of a proper parking place at the DHA cinema is causing problems for both visitors and the people living in the vicinity, a number of cinema-goers told Daily Times.

The visitors said they were forced to park their cars along the roadside due to the lack of a proper parking space. They said they feared that their cars could be stolen or damaged.

Security: “There should be a proper parking space in the cinema, or the administration should at least ensure that there is proper security for the cars parked outside,” Fawad Ahmad, who came to watch a film with his mother, said. “It is the administration’s responsibility to arrange parking. My friend has gone to buy tickets, and I have to wait here,” a woman driving around looking for a place to park, said. Two other women, who seemed in a hurry to catch the show, said it was obvious that the lack of parking was a problem.

Arshad Ali, another visitor, said earlier one could park in front of the cinema’s main entrance, but the area was barricaded about two months ago. “When I asked them why they had stopped the parking facility, the guards said there had been a few fights in front of the cinema,” he said. However, the security guards did not confirm this. The neighbours complained that those coming to the cinema parked their cars on the greenbelts outside their houses, and their lawns were being ruined. One servant told Daily Times that people who parked, without permission, outside the house where she works, often rang the doorbell to say the residents should not splash water while washing their driveways, as the visitors’ cars “got dirty”.

Muhammad Usman, who lives in a house facing the cinema, said, “We face a lot of inconvenience due to the movement of traffic in the afternoon and evening.” He pointed to cars parked next to the boundary wall of his residence.

A member of the DHA cinema administration said on condition of anonymity the management had not constructed the cinema, and they were only providing a service.

Experiment: He said the cinema did not have a proper parking because it was built on an experimental basis. Now that the idea had succeeded, a larger cinema with a parking was being constructed in Phase-VIII, he said. He said the cinema administration was not responsible for any damages to visitors’ cars.

DHA Additional Director (Facilities) Col Navid Rana said the version should be taken from DHA Public Relations Officer (PRO) Tajammul.

The PRO said the cinema had been allotted a parking lot in front of a nearby real estate agent’s office. He said people did not have the civic sense to park their cars in the allocated space.

Boards: When asked if the visitors were guided to the parking lot, the PRO said boards had been displayed near the cinema to guide people to the parking in front of the real estate office.

However, Daily Times did not find any boards indicating where cars might be parked. A number of visitors were asked if they knew about the supposed parking space, but they said they did not know.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg13_6