Row erupts again over parking space in Kanteerava stadium

Row erupts again over parking space in Kanteerava stadium

S. Rajendran

Lease pertaining to the car parking area expired recently

Mallya Hospital ready to construct car parking facility free

Plans afoot to utilise the land for a variety of sports activities

Bangalore: The precious little piece of parking space in front of Mallya Hospital is once again in the middle of an ownership row. Confusion reigns supreme over whether this facility on the eastern outer-fringe of the Sri Kanteerava Stadium should stay or whether it should be converted into a sports facility. With the expiry of the car parking lease recently, the stadium authorities find themselves in the same predicament that they were 10 years ago.

The development and maintenance of the Kanteerava stadium in the heart of Bangalore is under the overall charge of a Stadium Management Committee of which the State Sports Minister is chairman. With the Legislative Assembly dissolved, the onus is now on Governor Rameshwar Thakur to take a final decision.

The Mallya Hospital management called on the Governor to impress upon him that it was ready to construct (free of cost) a multi-storeyed car parking facility to provide space for parking 500 cars and, if need be, add on a sports hostel on the top floors of the structure. It also said that it would be a “donation” in the interest of providing car parking facility to the public, although it would be “great help” to its consultant doctors, the patients and their attendants, and visitors.

Sources in the Government told The Hindu that after the expiry of the lease pertaining to the car parking area, the property is now with the Kanteerava stadium authority and plans were afoot to utilise the nearly 50,000 sqft of land for a variety of sports activities. Earth-moving equipment were already at the place to level the land.

On the proposal put across by the Mallya Hospital management, the authorities said that it was the responsibility of the hospital to provide car parking in its own building. Several government recognised sports associations, including the archery association, have sought the land to promote sports.

Director of the Mallya Hospital and former president of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry K.M. Srinivasamurthy said the Mallya Hospital was not seeking to either own or take the given land on lease.

“All that we want to do is to provide a car parking facility. Let the stadium authority itself run the car parking and the collections thereon will benefit the authority in the maintenance of the stadium. The Mallya Hospital has a parking area for 80 cars. The hospital management spent around Rs. 25 lakh in 2000 to cover a major storm water drain and to level the ground,” he said.

The car parking facility on the outer-fringe of the Kanteerava stadium has been in the eye of a storm since 1994 when some unscrupulous elements forcibly converted the place into a car parking zone. Thereafter, the J.H. Patel government directed the stadium authority to lease out the land for car parking. Subsequently the S.M. Krishna Government following the references made in the two Houses of Legislature cancelled the lease. Acting on a public interest litigation, the High Court stepped in and this resulted in the car parking zone being reopened.