The directive came at a meeting at the city corporation's office on Thursday night with acting mayor Azam Khan in the chair. SCC officials, chamber leaders, market and shopping mall owners and the officials of the joint forces attended the meeting.

About 50 of the city markets do not have parking arrangements, while the rest have rented their parking places for shops or restaurants, breaking the

approved plans.

Although the SCC had earlier issued several notices asking the owners to remove shops and restaurants from their parking places, they did not pay heed to the authorities' directives.

Due to narrow city roads and absence of parking places, acute traffic jams take place in the city areas almost every day, causing great inconvenience to the city dwellers.

The market buildings, which had set up shops at their basements meant for parking places, have been asked to free the spaces within a week. The markets, which managed to get their plans approved without keeping provision for parking spaces, have been given 15 days' time to arrange parking places at their establishments, meeting sources said.

The meeting also decided to shift the wholesale markets of fish and vegetables and cattle market to other places outside the city.