LAHORE – Defence Housing Authority (DHA) residents and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) students are facing immense problems as the LUMS administration forces cars without parking stickers to be parked outside the campus and in front of houses, Pakistan Today has learnt. More than 150 cars are parked outside the campus on a daily basis irking residents of around 70 to 100 houses located opposite the varsity. Residents claim that the parking is affecting the beauty of DHA, which is considered to be the most posh housing society of the city.
DHA U Block residents complained that the parking had become a daily routine and was spoiling their lawns, as students parked cars on the grass and even in front of the gates of houses. They complained that U Block roads have narrowed owing to the situation and if this was the scenario of a posh housing society then one could imagine the living standards of other housing schemes. DHA sources claimed that their by-laws are silent about parking issues. They said that it was quite unfortunate that DHA had not devised any regulations about parking like the City District Government Lahore (CDGL). Sources said that motorists had to park their cars in the DHA at one’s own risk. They asked DHA officials to address the issue.
Yousaf, a DHA U Block resident, told Pakistan Today that DHA authorities should take action against the LUMS management, as the whole traffic flow was disturbed. He said that residents face all sorts of problems and sometimes they could not even bring their cars outside, as some students’ parked their cars in front of the gates of houses. Yousaf said that hundreds of cars were parked outside LUMS on Saturdays until late night but no one was willing to address the problem. He claimed that the problem intensifies during functions and special occasions of the varsity.
Another DHA resident Aamir Hassan said that his family visits Pakistan after a year and did not trust DHA authorities, as they were reluctant to take notice of the issue. He said that one could not compare the implementation of laws in Pakistan to other countries, as no one even wants to listen to problems. Residents claimed that they were sandwiched between LUMS authorities and students’ issues.
On being contacted, LUMS Communications Assistant Manager Sami Muzzaffar said that students did not display parking stickers on cars and LUMS authorities could not compromise on security. He said that students were informed about the deadline for barring entry of cars without stickers adding that students had to follow an easy procedure to get stickers but they remained non-serious.
There was no discrimination between employees and students and all of them had to follow the rules, Muzzaffar said. Students, seeking anonymity, said that sometimes they had to bring other cars to the varsity and the guards could check student cards to allow them to enter the campus. They said that as the LUMS campus was spread over a large area, students had to walk a long way. Students claimed that walking in intense heat increased their problems and they were being forced to park their cars without any security. They said that students were paying heavy fees but their cars were not secure. Despite repeated attempts, DHA Public Relations Officer (PRO) Tajammul Hassan was not available for comments.
