BHUBANESWAR: To check illegal parking and streamline traffic movement in different stretches of the Capital, the State Government has decided to begin with convention centres and marriage mandaps that do not have parking facility.
Secretary in the Housing and Urban Development department G Mathivathanan has asked Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Bhubaneswar Development Authority to take immediate measures in this regard. In a letter to the two Government agencies, Mathivathanan has instructed them to form enforcement squads immediately and carry out drives on a daily basis without fail.
Mathivathanan pointed out that a large number of convention centres and kalyan mandaps have come up in prime locations of the city and functioning without parking facilities leading to chocking of roads. A large number of convention centres and marriage mandaps have come up in areas like Sai Temple area, Tankapani Road, Patia, Infosys and Cuttack-Puri road and other important parts of the city. “These are serious issues which require immediate attention and steps need to be taken immediately by BMC and BDA,” he stated in the letter.
Sources in the BMC said 89 registered kalyan mandaps and convention centres are functioning in BMC area. While seven are managed by the civic body, remaining are private. Of these, 32 are in South-West Zone, 29 in North Zone and 28 in South-East Zone. A number of these kalyan mandaps are yet to obtain trade licence.
More than 60 mandaps either do not have parking space at all or have inadequate parking area. Around 50 kalyan mandaps and convention centres also don’t have trade licence. A BMC official said notices have been issued to private convention centres and marriage mandaps as to why action should not be not taken against them for running commercial activities in residential area.
Cracking the whip