Stalls, vendors occupy parking lots

Stall owners conducting unauthorised business at GHMC parking lot in Kukatpally main road in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

Parking lots are meant for parking vehicles. But if one happens to drive along the KPHB-JNTU stretch on the Mumbai highway, all one finds is private travel agency stalls, fruit juice centres, pushcart vendors conducting business at will in the parking lots.

Making best use of the negligent attitude of GHMC authorities, contractors, who bagged paid parking lot space, are renting such space to business establishments.

As a result, motorists are finding it difficult to park their vehicles on the stretch, which is replete with shopping malls and commercial establishments.

“GHMC board declares the open space as parking lots. But it is private travel agencies stalls and pushcarts that occupy the space and hardly any space if left for motorists,” fumes Mahipal Reddy, a regular visitor.

During weekends and festive occasions, even pedestrians find it difficult to walk along the stretch due to space crunch as motorists' park their vehicles on the road.

Right from JNTU junction to KPHB Colony entrance, there are over 10 parking lots but majority of the lots are rented to private establishments. Be it the parking lots near J.C. Brothers showroom or Remedy Hospitals, situation remains the same.

GHMC allows the contractors to charge Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 as parking fee for two-wheelers and four-wheelers respectively. This apart, Rs. 2 is charged as extra parking fee for every one hour after the minimum one hour time is lapsed. But many contractors rent the parking space to private establishments and reap more profits.

“We pay Rs. 30 as daily rent. When GHMC recovery van arrives here, pushcart vendors pay Rs. 300 as monthly rent and obtain valid receipt. But contractors demand the daily rent as usual,” says Suresh, a pushcart owner.

Apart from causing inconvenience to motorists, the practice is resulting in huge revenues loss to GHMC. Though it is mandatory for showrooms and shop owners to provide parking space to their customers, hardly any showroom provides such space, points out Radhakrishna, a resident of KPHB Colony.