Are City parking facilities JINXED?

• Town Hall parking still not open due to incomplete works, bureaucratic delay
• Zoo parking fails to take off due to revenue sharing standoff between MCC and Zoo authorities 

Mysore: Following the suggestion of opening Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry for a multi-level parking facility, Star of Mysore did a reality check on the other parking facilities in city including the ambitious Town Hall Parking and the parking facility at Mysuru Zoo that are still caught in bureaucratic, political and administrative tangle. 

Take the case of Town Hall Parking. The Town Hall multi-level parking can accommodate over 600 four-wheelers and over 1,000 two-wheelers. The works of parking lot began way back in 2011 and only 80 percent of the works are complete. Last year, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) had opened the facility for Dasara with a main intention of easing traffic congestion and parking hassles in the central area where people come to witness Dasara programmes.

However, parking here was discontinued after the MCC cancelled the parking tender contract following complaints of fleecing of motorists by the contractor to recover his tender costs. Rs. 30 was being charged for four-wheeler parking per hour while the MCC had promised a nominal amount of Rs. 20 for whole day parking.

That was last year. Now the MCC authorities are saying that there is a water-logging problem on the underground level of the multi-level parking lot. “Minor works have to be undertaken to prevent the gushing in of rainwater inside the basement parking. Tenders have been called for this and works will be completed by Dasara,” said MCC in-charge Superintendent Engineer Mahesh. 

The upper portion of the parking facility can accommodate 250 four-wheelers and 500 two-wheelers. “Tenders will be called for pay-and-park facility here and this process too will be completed before Dasara,” Mahesh said. 

Zoo parking facility

If this is the case of Town Hall Parking, here is an interesting case of Zoo parking that is also caught in a quandary. While sources at the Sri Chamarajendra  Zoological Garden (Mysuru Zoo) said that there is a stand-off between the Zoo and the MCC on revenue sharing, the MCC has washed off its hands by saying that the land has already been handed over to Zoo authorities and the onus is on them (Zoo) to build the parking. 

Inside sources in the Zoo told SOM that the MCC has been demanding a revenue share of 50 percent once the parking facility is implemented. As the land belongs to the MCC, the Zoo must pay 50 percent of the revenue.

But the Zoo authorities have begged to differ. They told the MCC that since the Zoo is investing crores of rupees on building the parking facility and maintain it why 50 percent of the revenue should be shared with the MCC. The standoff between the MCC and the Zoo is before the government that will decide on it finally. 

MCC, on its part, has stated that the land for Zoo parking has already been handed over to the Zoo authorities. “We have handed over the land and there is some issue in plan approval and other technicalities which the Zoo Authority must sort it out,” said MCC in-charge Superintendent Engineer Mahesh.