Anubhav Parsheera, October 9, 2015

The Delhi government has said it will commercialize parking spaces in the capital. One will now have to purchase a parking space before buying a vehicle.

Most people happy

Shivam, who lives in Delhi at his girlfriend’s place in Mayur Vihar, has already purchased a spot. “We never imagined that we would be the proud owners of a parking spot,” he said. “I can now come home safe in the knowledge that I have a spot that will always be there. So what if I still don’t have a car? I can rent out my spot and from that money, buy another parking spot, and then eventually buy a car.”

Deepak, another Delhiite, expressed excitement: “I will no longer have to sleep outside my house to ensure that no one parks there. In fact, I won’t even have to park my scooter diagonally to reserve the spot. I can finally use my scooter, and sleep inside my house after thirty-two years.”

What happens when the city runs out of space?

The chief minister told reporters that this was just the beginning. “We have greater plans ahead,” he said. “For instance, we intend to convert all main roads and highways in and around New Delhi into parking spots. It will be a great source of revenue.

“We will be a city of cars that are parked all day and all night. But if you look at it from a more optimistic perspective, running on the roofs of cars is the coolest thing one can do.”

The chief minister confirmed that owners of existing vehicles would also have to buy their own parking spots. This came as a rude shock to many people who liked to paint “reserved” on stationary objects outside their houses.

Haters gonna hate

There was a section of the population that expressed deep displeasure. “This is absurd. I have painted ‘reserved’ on the trees in front of at least five houses in the neighbourhood with my own hands,” said Rahul.

“In an ideal and honest world, this means that those spots belong to me and that those trees are also now mine. Does the law of ‘first come first served’ not stand for anything anymore?”