Despite the stringent directive of the Corporation and the Fire and Rescue Services Department, parking spaces in front of various commercial buildings in the city that have been illegally converted for various business purposes are yet to be reverted to their declared state.
Customers visiting such shops are forced to park their vehicles along the road or depend on private parking spaces that levy huge fees.
Plan approval
Though a majority of building owners claim that their building plans had the required approval, the corporation authorities point out that the plans were violated in the post-construction phase. Officials say parking spaces were later illegally converted into display area or storage spaces.
The parking space allotted during the construction of several commercial buildings near the mofussil bus stand is not available for customers any more. Car parking lots in front of buildings have been shrunken to accommodate a limited number of motorbikes.
“The space for motorbikes is also limited as it is occupied by shop owners and their staff by morning itself. Customers depend on roadside spaces, inviting police action,” says B. Rathnesh, a mechanic. He alleges that shop owners themselves encourage customers to use the roadside space for parking.
An official attached to the corporation says some building owners have already paid the fine to the government and won approval for altered constructions.
“The corporation cannot act against such persons who have legally rectified errors,” he adds.
Traders along the Palayam bus stand allege that some people leave their vehicles in front of commercial establishments in the morning to go about their day’s work elsewhere, creating congestion along the road.
Building safety
Fire and Rescue Service personnel say the alteration of parking space for other purposes endangers the safety of several buildings. “We had served notices on several building owners to take action, but only very few responded positively,” they add.
