The automated underground parking facility outside New Market, which can accommodate 240 cars but has been lying defunct for seven years, will be revived, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided.
The mayoral council of the civic body on Saturday approved a proposal to form a committee of engineers and officials to inspect the parking facility and suggest measures to run it again.
The committee will suggest necessary repairs before the parking facility can be opened again, a KMC official said.
“The committee will also decide whether the KMC will run the facility on its own or invite bids to select an agency to run it. We are hoping to be able to run the underground facility again within three to four months,” said a KMC official.
The multi-level parking facility, adjacent to Simpark Mall, outside New Market, started operations in 2007. It was shut down in 2017.
“The KMC cited lack of fire-fighting measures while announcing its decision to close the parking facility,” said an official at Simpark Infrastructures, the company that was managing the underground multi-level parking lot before it was shut down.
Visitors to New Market and shops along roads surrounding the 150-year-old shopping hub were the worst-hit after the parking facility was shut down.
An inspector in Kolkata police’s traffic department said that in the absence of enough parking spaces in the New Market area, most cars are either parked on roads or had to be parked far away.
The most inconvenienced are those who drive their cars to the area and then do not find a place to park.
“The situation becomes very bad on the days leading to Durga Puja, Christmas and other festivals. The demand for parking space is usually very high but availability far less,” said the officer.
Nasim Ahmed, who runs a watch store on Bertram Street in the New Market area, said the number of customers visiting his shop has dwindled.
“Many of my old customers have complained that they have stopped coming as it is nearly impossible to get a parking slot in the New Market area. When the underground parking lot was running, the problem was not so acute,” said Ahmed.
The authorities allow around 30 cars to be parked outside the entry to the underground parking facility but that is far short of the demand.
“Lack of use over so many years has ruined all machinery and infrastructure in the underground facility. Thorough repairs are needed before the facility can be opened again for parking,” said the official of Simpark Infrastructures.
The mayoral council on Saturday also approved a proposal to inspect the automated multi-level car parking facility on Rawdon Street. It is a three-tier car facility but only the lowest and second tiers are running.
“About 60 cars can be parked on the third tier. The committee will examine what kind of repairs are necessary to allow parking on the third tier,” said a KMC official.
The city has another automated car parking facility — near the Gariahat crossing, next to the outpost of the South East Traffic Guard.
Attendants running the Gariahat facility told The Telegraph on Friday that though there are three tiers in the facility, only the ground level is functional.
