Parking areas need to be made accessible after demolition drive in Hubballi-Dharwad

Onus on authorities to ensure the same

May 11, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:49 am IST - HUBBALLI:

Encroachments have reappeared after previous demolition drives in Hubballi.— FILE PHOTO

Encroachments have reappeared after previous demolition drives in Hubballi.— FILE PHOTO

Having garnered widespread support for the ongoing demolition drive against the encroachments on parking spaces in the twin cities, the onus of achieving the objective of the drive is now on the Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Rajendra Cholan and Municipal Commissioner C.M. Noor Mansoor, who are leading the drive from the front.

For the record, this is not the first time that the Corporation has initiated such a drive to make available parking space available for motorists in the twin cities.

The first demolition drive was launched when P. Manivannan was the Municipal Commissioner in 2005. It was primarily aimed at demolishing illegal structures built violating the building bylaws, but it also did address the issue of encroachments on parking areas.

After the demolition drive, having initiated road widening, pavement and drain construction, Mr. Manivannan subsequently initiated another drive. It aimed to seal the buildings not having completion certificates, which indirectly made available parking space, as the building owners had to adhere to the original building plan.

But the tragedy of it was that the drive was not pursued vigorously and encroachments reappeared over period of time. While the next commissioner Ajay Nagabhushan also took interest in clearing encroachments on parking areas, before he could initiate it, he was transferred.

Then it was Municipal Commissioner K.V. Trilok Chandra who drew up a plan to act against buildings where parking areas were encroached upon. Mr. Trilokchandra succeeded in making several building owners clear the encroachments on their own, while the rest were removed through a demolition drive.

However, with no strict adherence to building bylaws while issuing completion certificates, even in those buildings subjected to the drive, encroachments reappeared.

The only grouse of the residents and those want better facilities in the twin cities, is that these drives have not been taken to the logical end.

Although there have been talks of having a regular squad to keep a check on these encroachments, it is still in the planning stage even after years.

In the recent interaction organised by the Karnatak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the need for a permanent solution was highlighted. It also stressed on the need to ensure that the parking spaces recovered after the demolition drive were available to motorists.

Although the authorities have assured of involving the police to tackle the issue, their immediate challenge will be to see that these parking areas are made accessible to the public and that vehicles are parked there.

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