The Hindu              16.08.2013

Stack parking coming soon to Karol Bagh

The stack parking facility on Sat Bhirawan Road in Karol
Bagh will be operational by the end of this month. The project was
supposed to be completed before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The
parking project, which has missed several deadlines since 2009 when it
was conceptualised, is expected to be inaugurated on August 31.

The Municipal Councillor from Karol Bagh area, Rajesh Bhatia, told
The Hindu
that the the project is almost complete. “Only a no-objection
certificate from the Delhi Fire Service is required, which we are
expecting to get in a week or so. After that the parking space will be
ready for use,” said Mr. Bhatia.

The councillor said in the absence of new parking facilities in the area, the problem of congestion has been compounded.

“The
footfall in the Karol Bagh market has seen manifold increase because of
which new parking spaces are urgently needed. The stack parking project
has been pending for the past four years mainly due to the
lackadaisical attitude of officials. After I raised the issue with the
political leadership of the civic body, the project has thankfully been
completed now,” Mr. Bhatia said.

“The project was
planned for the Commonwealth Games, but we could not start it due to
legal issues. I have taken up the issue of more parking spaces with the
North Delhi Municipal Corporation and soon new surface-level parking
sites will be identified,” he said.

Traders in Karol Bagh are eagerly awaiting the opening of the facility.

While
around Rs. 29 crore has been collected from the traders in parking
charges by the Municipal Corporation, there has hardly been any addition
to the parking facilities in the area. A multi-level parking project
proposed under the public private partnership model at Shastri Park in
Karol Bagh has failed to take off.

As for the stack
parking project, which allows for parking of cars at three vertical
levels, some traders insist that it was planned in a hurry and therefore
ran into trouble. “The facility was constructed on a road and thus had
an obstructive effect,” said a trader. The facility, which will offer
space for 90 cars, was to come up at a cost of Rs. 80 lakh. But, it got
entangled in a court case as a trader approached the Delhi High Court
and after the matter was resolved in August 2010, it was put on hold due
to the Commonwealth Games.