‘Parking’ their memories all over again

‘Parking’ their memories all over again
Bangalore: July 25, DHNS:

To manage the additional influx of people on MG Road who come to see replica of Metro coach, the police has opened up the space below the Metro line for parking. Finding a parking spot on the road seemed impossible until a few days ago.

For some, it is a nostalgic walk back in time, a re-visit to one of Bangalore’s iconic roads – the Mahatma Gandhi Road.

An old-timer Anantharaju narrated about his visits to a theatre showing English movies then, recollecting parking his car along a small cobbled footpath. “It was a beautiful view back then when there was ample parking facilities and a view of the entire road. Today, it seems to have been lost for good,” he added.

Even as the good old days may be lost for real, at least, one can give a miss to days of going around Church Street, Resthouse Road and Kamaraj Road, among other places one might have had to visit to find parking to get somewhere on M G Road temporarily. Citizens are hoping this temporary arrangement will become a permanent one.
T R Ramaswamy, a professional who worked on M G Road remembered the time in the 1970s when it was first proposed to shift the parking bays from the boulevard side to the shops and establishments side where people would be working or shopping. “It was a move made by the then Additional Commissioner Pereira, to ensure safety of the citizens who wished to cross over to the other side ,” he said.

He recalled the time when only six or seven cars would be parked on the stretch. “It was the safest place to park your vehicles. People would even park it overnight if they were to go out of station. Even I would park my car right here,” he said.
“There is a lot of spare space below these Metro lines and flyovers. Why do they not consider this to be a viable option for parking?” he asked.

However, Additional Commissioner for Traffic and Safety Praveen Sood says this will not be a viable option as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), have turned down his department’s proposal to have parking under the metro.

“We had suggested that a car parking facility could help reduce the choc-o-block on M G Road by shifting the parking from the right side to the left, below the Metro Line. But it was shot down by the Metro officials,” Sood said.