Construction of buildings violating the Kerala Municipal Rules has come as an addition to the parking woes of the city even as the number of vehicles and the population increases. Though the rules clearly state that the building should have a proportionate parking space on the compound, hundreds of structures have violated the rule in this regard.
As a result of such violations, customers are now being compelled to park their vehicles along the road, which leads to traffic congestion. The City Corporation has been unable to do much about the violations by the buildings along the Railway Station link Road, Mavoor Road and a long stretch of Kannur Road.
“A drive along the roads through S.M. Street will tell how a motorist struggles to find parking space. When two-wheelers can squeeze in somewhere, cars and other vehicles will have to find the parking space at their own risk,” says Sajith Sreedharan, a resident of Pavangad. “There were occasions when we were compelled to park the vehicles quite a distance away from the shops we wanted to visit,” he says.
Some of the other regular market goers say that the parking space in front of the shops is mostly occupied by the owner’s vehicle.
“Usually, these vehicles never clear the spot till the closure of the shop in the evening. Even two-wheelers can’t be parked in front of such shops,” says Anil Muraleedharan, a computer technician at Palayam.
Meanwhile, leaders of various merchants’ association claim that even the City Corporation does not provide the legally bound parking facilities for the people.
Railway parking“Along the busy railway station link road, it had planned a multi-level parking facility, but, the construction has reached nowhere,” says a leader of the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti. He also points out that the project, if completed, would have come to the help of several customers on the busy stretch of the city.
On the other hand, official sources said that the parking plaza project was currently under the supervision of the Calicut Development Authority. “They are ready to realise the project as per the earlier plan fixed by the Corporation,” officials said.
