In a bid to decongest the city’s traffic system, two proposed car parking plazas still remain a distant dream.
The first plaza is scheduled to come up on around one acre land close to the Uttirna complex, the newly opened cultural hub with open theatre at Alipore, while the second one is to be set up on the land of old Panchayat Bhaban building just opposite to the existing New Secretariat complex on Kiron Shankar Roy Road in BBD Bag area.
Sources in the state public works department (PWD) that would implement the two projects of around Rs 60 crore each on an average said that a tender would be floated for the parking plaza close to Uttirna complex soon.
“The parking lot will come up on a seven storied building to accommodate about 300 cars and 20 buses. The tender process is going on to invite private construction giants interested to take part in the tender bid for the project of around Rs 50 crore. This will be the first ever huge seventier parking lot close to any state-run cultural complex across the state,” an official of the PWD said requesting anonymity.
The second proposed project in front of the New Secretariat building that houses government offices of different departments like panchayat, labour, tourism etc. is getting delayed.
“We are yet to complete all the necessary formalities required for inviting tender. The proposed project will come up in a 10 storied building to decongest the traffic snarls in the downtown of BBD Bag, High Court and Burra Bazar areas,” the official said.
“It will accommodate more than 500 cars in a 10-storied plaza system with modern facilities. The estimated cost of the project has not yet been decided,” he said, adding that the government is also exploring whether it will impose parking charges for the private vehicles that will parked at two plazas or not.
“It will help the PWD maintain the two buildings with the funds raised from parking charges,” he felt. On the other hand, some senior officials in the PWD department at the state secretariat have raised questions on the utility of the proposed parking plaza on the old panchayat building land because the existing underground parking lot in front of the Writers’ Buildings is virtually lying unutilised.
“With the shift of most of the departments and above all the chief minister’s office (CMO) to the state secretariat Nabanna in Howrah across the Vidyasagar Setu the number of cars has drastically come down at the underground parking zone,” one official felt.