Old city of Udaipur is soon to be converted to “No vehicle zone” for the benefit of tourists. After the decision of converting Lake City into White City, traffic in the inner city lanes became a major point of concern. So, Municipal Corporation decided to provide a better movement to tourists as well as locals in the city’s narrow lanes. Arrangements have been made to maintain traffic from RangNiwas to Chandpole. In this area which covers around 1.5 kms to 2 kms, vehicles will not be allowed to enter. For transportation between various points which fall in this zone, E-Rickshaws will operate whilst contributing in keeping the zone pollution free.

 Not just the tourists but the localites, too, will be making use of E-Rickshaws. There will be a complete ban on 4 wheelers in this area. 2 wheelers will be allowed to operate for a certain time period. Inhabitants of area lying between this zone will be allotted special vehicle stickers so as to facilitate their entry without any problem. Vehicles will be prohibited on either ends of ‘no vehicle zone’ from RangNiwas to Chandpole.

To make sure that the enforcement of “No vehicle zone” does not pose a problem for people, 25 additional E-rickshaws have been provided by Municipal Corporation. Both private and public transport and personal vehicles from RangNiwas side will be parked in Hemraj Vyayamshala and RSEB parking area. Provision for parking has been made at Chandpole,too. Siddharth Sihag, Commissioner Municipal Corporation, said that arrangements are being carried out for rickshaws and parking lots. Police assistance is awaited in this matter. Once police department confirms security arrangements, “No vehicle zone” will be activated immediately.

The idea of “No vehicle zone” is likely to ease traffic in the inner lanes of the city which are significant from tourist point of view. During tourist season, all lanes get jam-packed creating a chaos in the inner city. With all vehicles parked outside, the problem might get solved to a great extent, though it is too early to comment on views of general public since we are not used to leaving our personal vehicles to use public transport. The concept might take time to set in, and once it does it will certainly prove beneficial.