Chandigarh, Oct. 18 -- Even as 22 major city markets have been allotted nearby schools and colleges as extra parking to handle the festival rush, the response has been lacklustre. Many shoppers remain unaware of these arrangements, while markets continue to face bumper-to-bumper traffic, which is expected to increase further with Dhanteras on Saturday and Diwali on Monday.

The Sector 19 Government Model Senior Secondary School is one of the more popular parkings, as it is situated right next to the market. School officials explained that some shoppers invariably end up parking here. In contrast, schools located farther from markets have seen very few vehicles.

With Dhanteras approaching, the school parking in Sector 19 had only around f...