BENGALURU: The public parks on either side of Chord Road near Vijaynagar and Attiguppe Metro stations have become an unlikely casualty with hundreds of Metro commuters turning them into parking lots.
The Metro East-West corridor, which was completed last year, witnesses an average of 1.4 lakh people travelling every day. Part of this corridor passes through Chord Road that has three stations — Hosahalli, Vijayanagar and Attiguppe. This stretch of road has service roads and parks on either side running for a length of about 4km.
Many of those who take the Metro from Vijayanagar and Attiguppe stations park their two- and four-wheelers in the public parks next to the Metro stations. A staffer at the Attiguppe station said that for the last few days, two-wheelers are being allowed to be parked inside the public park.
“Otherwise, people would park their vehicles haphazardly. We are not charging any fee for the vehicles that are inside the park area,’’ he said.
Shilpa Shenoi, who takes the Metro to reach her office on M G Road, parks her two-wheeler next to Bunt’s Sangha. “Riding the two-wheeler all the way up to M G Road is tiresome in this traffic. For the last 10 months, I have been taking the Metro. But there is no dedicated parking space available here. People park vehicles inside the parks, on the service roads, in front of houses and wherever they can. I also do the same. Let the civic authorities give us place to park and charge a nominal fee or issue monthly pass,’’ she said.
Interestingly, there is parking space available at BMTC’s Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) near Attiguppe station. But Metro commuters don’t seem to prefer it. “Three floors are for parking and the space has been outsourced to a private contractor. Not many people park their vehicles here though there is shade and security and it is walkable distance to Attiguppe station. They prefer to park their vehicles closer to the station,’’ said a BMTC staffer.
Senior BMRCL official U V Vasanth Rao said that wherever space is available at Metro stations, contracts for maintenance of parking lots have been given to private parties. “At Vijayanagar, there is space available below the Metro station. We had given it out to a private contractor but he was incurring loss as people would not park there because they have to pay,’’ he said.
Vikram Nadig, a resident of Widia Layout said that earlier, due to the presence of many trees, the houses on the service roads would not feel the blistering heat.
“Now that there are no trees in the parks, one can feel the heat. The park near Indraprastha hotel at Vijayanagar now has vehicles and no trees. There are just one or two tree remaining. The two-wheelers are parked from morning till evening. They are seen everywhere — inside the park, on the service road and also the smaller lanes inside Vijayanagar and Hosahalli. It is disturbing the peace,’’ he alleged.
Speaking to Express, Attiguppe ward councillor Dr S Raju said they have plans to construct multi-level parking for two-wheelers in the parks taken over by two-wheelers. “There were no trees in that space. We have plans to construct a multi-level parking facility to accommodate at least 300 two-wheelers.”
Sources in BBMP confirmed there is a proposal to build a multi-level parking facility. “We are aware of the reduction of green cover. Bigger trees might have to be axed, but we don’t have options,” he said.