Parking lot shut, shoppers’ cars take over Gariahat para roads
Times of India | 14 March 2024
Kolkata: Neighbourhoods in and around Gariahat — Hindustan Park, Fern Road, Ekdalia and Singhi Park — are experiencing a sudden influx of cars, which are choking the narrow lanes and bylanes, owing to the closure of parking lots under the Gariahat flyover.
“Since the closure of the parking lot under the flyover, motorists are venturing into the already crowded para roads to park their vehicles.While we used to face this problem before Poila Baisakh and Durga Puja, when shopping at Gariahat peaks, we are experiencing it even in the mornings now with people parking their vehicles to shop for vegetables and fish at Gariahat market,” said a Hindustan Park resident.
Motorists say they have no option but to seek alternatives as parking has become a nightmare after the parking lots under the southern and northern ramps of the flyover that can accommodate over 100 cars were shut down.
Aniket Bose, an IT professional and a resident of Pratapaditya Road, said he had no options but to park his car on Fern Road on Saturday when he visited the Gariahat fish market. “I knew that I was parking my car illegally, but I was desperate. KMC should come clear about the existing parking lots and publish a list of valid parking lots,” said Bose.
KMC officials claimed that the parking lot under Gariahat flyover was shut down as the contract with the private agency had expired. The parking lot had thereafter been cordoned off to stop illegal fee collection.
People questioned KMC or police’s right to act in a manner that inconvenienced citizens and wondered why instead of acting against those who have been collecting fees illegally, it was tax payers who were being penalised.
This is not the first such instance at Gariahat. A couple of years ago, the same lots were barricaded after the agency that was in charge of collecting parking fee surrendered the lots to KMC and walked away. While there are occasions when contracts for other parking lots in the city expire, none of them is barricaded like it is done at Gariahat.
Debasis Kumar, MMiC overseeing the KMC car parking department, assured that the civic body would take a timely step to rope in an agency to reopen the parking lot. “We can’t allow to run a parking lot illegally. At the same time, we understand the plight of the motorists. We hope to invite a tender shortly,” said Kumar.