The residents expressed their anger and frustrations over insufferable congestion in the roads of the residential area invaded by big commercial houses like private banks, mobile telephone companies, schools and convention halls as their car parking area.

It is a daily phenomenon that vehicles belonging to commercial establishments and their clients block the roads and lanes disrupting easy movement of the people.

Shirin Shila, joint general secretary of Gulshan Society, said the situation is really deplorable from dawn to dusk causing the residents untold sufferings.

"We are facing obstructions and loss of time while going out and coming back home because of illegal parking in this residential area," she said.

The road network in a residential area is not supposed to be used as car parking lot by the business houses, Shirin said. "Authorities must ensure that the roads are freed from illegal uses at any cost for people's easy movement."

Road no 1, 2 and 3 in Gulshan-1 are occupied with vehicles of different private banks and cellphone companies. Roads 1 and 3 are also occupied with construction materials.

An influential private bank on road no-5 has designated a part of the road as car parking area. As a result, residents of the adjoining area and general commuters suffer miserably in moving to and from their houses.

Ayesha Majid, a schoolteacher, said that it takes her at least 20 minutes, sometimes even longer, to get to her house on road no-2 from the main avenue, hardly 200 yards away.

"I get stuck in front of the house simply because of heavy parking on the roads 1, 2, 3 and other adjoining internal roads," she said.

An English medium school is run at the junction of road no-9 and 12. Road no-8 remains occupied with car parking by business houses like electronics company and others. Similar situation prevails on roads 4, 6 and others.

Shirin Shila said vehicles of a big mobile telephone company occupy road no- 107, 112, 113, 95, 96 and other surrounding internal roads.

Despite some legal actions taken by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha in recent times, it is indicative of "shamelessness" at individual level of the commercial entities that they again do the illegal acts at the cost of public sufferings, she said.

Big commercial establishments in the city have all along been defiant in messing up residential areas with illegal car parking on the main avenue and the alleys.

A number of Gulshan residents alleged that the lanes get so congested with traffic snarl-up caused by illegal car parking that it becomes almost impossible for them to move.

Vehicles even remain parked in front of the residential houses and along the sidewalk and the houses' boundary walls for hours.

Locals also said that the commercial establishments, without car parking space of their own, also started parking their vehicles inside the South Park.

Despite a complaint by Gulshan Society with the Dhaka City Corporation, the invasion of unauthorised parking situation has turned worse.