Mega makeover for parking lots

KOLKATA: To augment revenue from car parking and prevent the harassment of motorists at the hands of unscrupulous parking attendants, the civic body has decided to invite open tenders for managing parking zones across the city.
"Earlier, we used to invite internal tenders based on which we would allot the parking lots to the existing cooperative societies.Now we are planning to invite an open tender where fresh societies can also bid," said Soumen Moulik, the chief manager (car parking), Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). The civic body has already turned down the pleas of prominent cooperative societies for extension of the contract.
The KMC also plans to introduce some new parking zones to meet the heightened demand. Some of the areas it plans to declare as parking zones include College Street, Surjya Sen Street, Netaji Subhas Road, Strand Road, Short Street, Park Circus and Bhowanipore, among others.
Rajib Deb, the mayor-in-council member overseeing the KMC car parking department, said the KMC was determined to augment revenue from car parking and offer motorists more space to park their cars without harassment. Deb is particularly worried about rise in the number of fake agencies that collect money from motorists at night for parking their cars in areas that are not authorized parking zones.
This is not all. The KMC, together with the Kolkata Police, is set to launch a drive against illegal parking lots that have been mushrooming across the city. To begin with, the civic authorities will launch a campaign asking car owners to avoid parking their cars in unauthorized spaces.
"After a week, we will begin a drive and any cars found in illegal parking zones will be seized. We will levy heavy penalty on those who don't abide by the rules," said a KMC car parking department official.
A list with the KMC car parking department reveals the presence of 'fake' parking lots on several thoroughfares. Among them are CIT Road (Kankurgachi), Bagbazar Street, Rabindra Sarani (Rabindra Bharati to Vivekananda Road), Amherst Street, Muktarambabu Street in the north, Indian Mirror Street, Elliot Road, Short Street (from Loudon Street to Rawdon Street) in the central and Park Circus seven-point crossing, Baker Road (Alipore), Turf Road, Sarat Bose Road (Elgin Road to Padmapukur), Purna Das Road (Gol Park to Jatin Bagchi Road), Ballygunge Station Road, Manoharpukur Road (part), Motilal Nehru Road (behind Priya Cinema), Raja Basanta Roy Road, Jatin Bagchi Road (Southern Avenue to Gol Park) and Ballygunge Circular Road (near David Hare Training College) in the south.
However, proposals are also being floated by a section of the KMC car parking department officials to regularize some of these spaces so as to earn revenue and discourage increase in the number of fake parking agencies.