Hit by space crunch, motorists grab govt parking slots

DHARWAD: For too long, Prakash H Marad risked ending up with a bad back while commuting to his office in Hubli on his motorcycle. Each weekday, he woke up dreading which portions of roads would have been rendered non-motorable by the frequent road repairs. That was until he decided to leave his bike on the premises of the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC). "The corporation is near a bus stand. So, I now take a bus to have a safer journey," explains the employee of a private company.Marad isn't alone. Faced with a parking space crunch, several motorists are now leaving their vehicles behind at the campuses of government hospitals, the HDMC, the tahsildar's office, colleges and other government institutions.The development of public amenities and facilities has not been able to keep pace with the rapid infrastructural growth of the city, forcing people to bend the rules to suit their needs.Leaving vehicles behind on government property offers two other benefits: save up on parking fees and guaranteed security under the watch of guards.But Marad justifies the trend, arguing that inadequate parking facilities at the Dharwad bus stand and the market area as well as narrow city roads force people to head to government property. He adds that private landowners do not let others park on their property either. "And, leaving our vehicles by the road is risky because we return late at night from our workplaces."Marad suggests a parking complex for such motorists. An HDMC staff member says government employees have to bear the brunt of such illegal parking. "We are fed up. When other vehicles occupy our parking slots, we find it difficult to park our own under the prescribed shelter." Sameer Shukla, deputy commissioner of Dharwad district, assures that he will immediately call the authorities concerned and ask them to keep an eye on such illegal parking. "If motorists have some work in that particular government office, only then can they park their vehicles there."He adds that talks are on to construct a multi-level parking complex in the twin cities.