Shortage of parking space continues to plague Hubli
Girish Pattanashetti - The Hindu
Several commercial buildings in the city do not have the facility
Only 294 of 554 commercial complexes in Hubli and Dharwad have parking facility
Plan to construct multi-storeyed parking lots in the preliminary stage
Callous: Vehicles parked haphazardly on the Dajibanpet Road in Hubli on Sunday.
HUBLI: Parking has been a problem in Hubli for several years and increase in the number of vehicles has only added to it.
“Park as you please” has been the mantra of most vehicle users in the city, as their chances of being penalized for parking vehicles in restricted areas are less.
Earlier, two-wheelers and sometimes even four-wheelers used to be parked on pavements, leaving no space for pedestrians to walk. However, after the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation raised the height of pavements, people have little scope for parking vehicles on them.
It is common to see vehicles parked haphazardly even on busy roads in the city.
Towing vehicles
Although the Hubli-Dharwad Police Commissionerate has towing vehicles, they are used mostly when VVIPs visit the city.
No space
One of the main contributing factors for the worsening of parking problem in the city is the lack of adequate parking space in most of the commercial buildings.
According to officials of the HDMC, there are 554 commercial complexes in the twin cities and only 294 of them have parking facility.
When Ajay Nagabhushan took charge as Commissioner of the HDMC he had said that action would be initiated against owners of the buildings that did not have adequate parking space. However, the HDMC is yet to take steps in this regard.
Several new buildings in the twin cities do not have adequate parking space. As a result, people who come to these buildings are forced to park their vehicles outside.
Sealing drive
In fact, the drive to seal commercial complexes built in violation of building bylaws, during the tenure of the former HDMC Commissioner P. Manivannan, had some effect. Owners of such complexes cleared basements to provide parking space. However, introduction of the Sakram scheme by the State Government in 2007 forced the HDMC officials to stop the sealing drive.
Meanwhile, the HDMC’s plan to construct multi-storeyed parking lots in the twin cities is still in the preliminary stage.
