THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city corporation has cancelled the rental agreement with the restaurant at MG Road following the controversy and subsequent intervention by Public Works Minister P A Mohamed Riyas. The corporation terminated the contract citing that the restaurant violated a clause in the Rs 100 agreement by obstructing the public from parking their vehicles at the designated 72m on the roadside.
The restaurant — Anna Bhavan — which was opened recently, entered into an agreement with the civic body in July. The traffic advisory committee led by Mayor Arya Rajendran designated the area in front of the hotel as their parking area. The corporation’s action turned controversial when the security guard of the restaurant stopped the public from parking their vehicles in front of it.
On Tuesday, Riyas told reporters that, prima facie, there was a rule violation based on the findings by the PWD (Roads) chief engineer. The minister said he would check if the civic body had any legal protection.
Following the controversy, the corporation came up with an official statement in which it said that public places have been rented out on a contract basis since 2017.
The fees collected went directly to the Thiruvananthapuram city traffic improvement and passengers’ welfare society every month, the official spokesperson of the corporation said.The corporation has deputed 225 wardens for collecting parking fees for traffic control.