Govt suffers amnesia on past proposal

Govt suffers amnesia on past proposal
Sandeep Moudgal, Bangalore, May 27, DHNS:

Even as the Government proposes an underground parking bay below the B S Chandrashekar playground, the State has been sitting on a two-year-old proposal to build a multi-level car parking bay in Jayanagar IV Block.

The proposal was made in 2008 for the project at an estimated cost of Rs 99 crore. This commercial complex was proposed to host as many as 750 cars for people who frequent the hub of commercial activities in South Bangalore, half a kilometer from the proposed underground parking system. On the other side near the Jayanagar bus stand, even the Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) has a parking bay for 150 cars which seems to have been left in the deluge after its construction.

Angry residents

Residents in the area are fuming with anger after news of the new proposal came out on Thursday morning. They even approached the local corporator for an explanation on the said proposal which was to construct a two to three multi-parking bay below the ground. It is learnt that opposition to the proposal has even been voiced by the City president from the BJP, MLA B N Vijaykumar.

According to residents Vijaykumar has also directed his constituency corporators not to support the proposal for the parking area below the playground in Jayanagar. Half way across the city, in Malleshwaram hectic activity was reported by residents over the past few days with sand being dumped on the playground for trying to soften the ground for digging. The underground parking proposal has also been suggested by the government below Malleshwaram playground.

Wait and watch

However, in this vicinity, residents have embarked upon a wait and watch approach. Locals state that the proposal was quite an old one which was opposed way back in 2007-08. Even during those days, the residents had voiced their objection over the proposal. But then, people still await a final look at the plan before agitating on the issue.

So where lies the verdict? In the past 48-hours, the opposition against the alleged “ad-hoc” method utilised by the State Government in deciding the 10 proposed underground parking bays in playgrounds and vacant lands in the City has come in for lot of criticism from the political echelons and the residents of the Bangalore. So much so the issue may become the focal point of discussion at the BBMP Council sitting on Friday.